Federal Updates

Developments on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
There have been several recent developments pertaining to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that affect the financial aid community. First, in the last few weeks, there have been three pieces of legislation signed by the president that affect students and schools in major disaster areas. In addition, last week ED published guidance regarding the extension of filing and application deadlines for students and schools impacted by Hurricane Rita.

TG Updates

Need to update your Lender Fact Sheet? Just let us know
TG offers Lender Fact Sheets to help students, parents, and schools understand more about the lenders that guarantee loans through TG. If you are a lender that partners with TG, TG suggests that you review your Lender Fact Sheet periodically to see if any information needs to be updated. If you find something that needs to be modified, contact Bonnie Brinkley in TG loan guarantee operations.

2006 TG Conference update
Mark your calendars to join TG and your financial aid industry colleagues at the 2006 TG Annual Conference. TG's Annual Conference is a premier industry training event that helps financial aid administrators and industry partners maximize their industry knowledge to improve financial aid services for families and students.

Skill builders: How do you define great customer service?
What exactly is customer service, and what specific traits define great customer service?

TG resources: Lender and School Advisory committees
TG appreciates the advice of its customers, and one group that provides valuable advice is TG's Lender and School Advisory Committees (LSA).

Question of the week
How does buying or selling a loan affect lender record retention requirements?

TG offices closed
TG will be closed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 25, for a corporate-wide activity. TG will reopen at 5 p.m.

Legislative Update

The October 18 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes an update on House leaders beginning the process of determining spending cuts through the budget reconciliation process, reductions in FY 2006 appropriations, and budget rescissions. Keep up with the latest developments by reading the full report on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/lege_report/index.cfm.

This, That, and the Other...

According to the Digest of Education Statistics, 2004, from ED's National Center of Education Statistics, more than 80 million people are involved in providing or receiving formal education in the U.S.

"In the fall of 2004, about 71.7 million persons were enrolled in American schools and colleges. About 4.3 million persons were employed as elementary and secondary school teachers and as college faculty. Other professional, administrative, and support staff at educational institutions numbered 5 million. Thus, about 81 million people were involved, directly or indirectly, in providing or receiving formal education." To read the digest, visit http://nces.ed.gov/
programs/digest/d04/.