Federal Updates

Updated information available pertaining to Hurricane Katrina
ED has released a new electronic announcement (the sixth of the series since the disaster occurred) that provides guidance on the length of the academic year for schools affected by Hurricane Katrina.

ED provides additional guidance for making post-120-day late disbursements
On September 29, ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-05-13, announcing updates to its previous guidance in DCL GEN-05-07 (See Shoptalk Online 301) on procedures for requesting approval to make a post-120-day late disbursement, also called a "late" late disbursement.

Current special allowance rates: Quarter ending September 30, 2005
Special allowance rates for the quarter ending September 30, 2005, are now available.

TG Updates

TG, Council for the Management of Educational Finance recognize schools with "student success" awards
TG and the Council for the Management of Educational Finance have recognized four schools with "Commitment to Student Success" awards. California State University — Sacramento, GateWay Community College in Arizona, Texas State University — San Marcos, and The University of Texas — Pan American were chosen based on the exceptional programs they have in place to effectively prepare students for successful student loan repayment.

Coming up…
These events are taking place during the upcoming month.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
Does the requirement to disburse Stafford and PLUS loans in multiple disbursements apply on a loan-period or payment-period basis?

Common Manual

Common Manual Updates
Information on recent updates to the Common Manual.

This, That, and the Other...

Officials at several colleges and universities across the country say the number of students who apply but then ask for a deferment is increasing, according to an October 11 article in The Washington Post.

Students are taking time out of the classroom to travel, reflect, participate in community service jobs or, in many cases, work so they can pay for college. Some use the time to improve their résumés to help them gain admittance to elite schools that rejected them the first time. Others are telling counselors that they simply want to decompress from the unrelenting pace and structure of their lives. A 2003 poll by the Princeton Review reported that of 350 students surveyed, 55 percent of those who had taken time off said the experience improved their grades when they returned to school. Fifty-seven percent said their experiences away from the classroom benefited their job search. To read the article, visit www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/
2005/10/10/
AR2005101001166.html.