Federal Updates

ED releases updated Blue Book
ED recently has published an updated version of The Blue Book: Accounting, Recordkeeping, and Reporting by Postsecondary Educational Institutions Participating in the Federal Student Aid Programs. This is the third time that ED has updated this publication — it was released in June 1995 and updated twice before in June 1999 and June 2001.

TG Updates

Familiar faces, new roles help shape the future of customer service at TG
Customer service at TG has been reengineered to provide even more flexibility and enhanced service to TG's school and lender partners. TG considered feedback from business partners and advisory groups to determine the most effective way to simplify the organization of customer service teams and to streamline student loan processing. As a result, several of TG's financial aid experts have taken on new responsibilities.

Question of the week
How do I process a loan after the end of the loan period has passed?

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

Trends and Issues

Partner Resources: ED's FSA COACH teaches fundamentals of financial aid
FSA COACH, a free training program offered by ED, can serve as a resource for new student financial aid professionals. The program is designed to be an introductory course on school requirements for administering postsecondary federal student aid (FSA) programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.

This, That, and the Other...

Promoting diversity in the college classroom has taken on a new meaning in the twenty-first century, as the gap in the number of women and men attending college widens, according to an October 19 article in USA Today. Just as schools might consider racial or geographical diversity in building freshman classes, they similarly look for gender parity. There are more men than women ages 18-24 in the U.S. — 15 million vs. 14.2 million, according to a Census Bureau estimate last year. But nationally, the male/female ratio on campus today is 43/57, a reversal from the late 1960s and well beyond the nearly even splits of the mid-1970s. While schools and education officials realize the need to attract and retain men in higher education, there is debate on how to alleviate the disparity. Talk of gender is fraught with social, legal, and political minefields because of disparities that still exist. Therefore, most educators are focused on balance. To read the article, visit www.usatoday.com/news/
education/2005-10-19-male-
college-cover_x.htm.