Federal Updates

Congress approves reconciliation bill; presidential signature forthcoming
You may not have heard, but last week was a busy one: the Loch Ness monster waded up to the shoreline in Scotland, and posed politely for photographers; the underworld opened an ice skating rink; and the House approved a budget reconciliation bill (which the president is expected to sign tomorrow) that reauthorizes portions of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

Top ten things schools should know about the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
The changes outlined in the law will have a significant impact on schools, and will necessitate swift changes to policies, operations, and communication with students and parents. So what's the final word on this new legislation as it affects schools?

Top ten things lenders should know about the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
The recent approval of S. 1932 by the House of Representatives (the president is expected to sign the bill tomorrow) has created a whirlwind of activity for our partners in the student lending community.

Economic hardship deferment form updated with latest poverty guidelines
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the U.S. federal poverty guidelines in the Federal Register dated January 24, 2006. The 2006 poverty guideline figure for a family of two is $13,200 for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. In Alaska, the figure is $16,500, and in Hawaii, the figure is $15,180.

TG Updates

TG names two new lender consultants
John Cerda and Beth Gonzalez recently joined TG's lender partnerships team. As lender partnership consultants, John and Beth will provide enhanced customer service to TG's lending partners as part of TG's relationship management and consulting team.

Second year of FAFSA Telethons begin with help from TG
In observation of February as Financial Aid Awareness month, TG kicked off its second year of helping with the FAFSA Telethons by fielding calls from students and families seeking help with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and with the financial aid process in general.

Question of the week
I am in school. Why am I getting billed? How can I be delinquent? (Question submitted by a borrower)

Legislative Update

The February 7 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes a Congressional Update on the FY07 federal budget. 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...

Healthcare majors are flourishing on college campuses across the country as more students are choosing majors that have strong career opportunity potential, reports The New York Times in its February 5 issue.

Flagship state universities have long drawn large numbers of working- and middle-class students with a pragmatic bent. Add to that the plentiful supply of jobs in the growing health care industry, and a result is that health science programs — with choices in majors including physical therapy and physician assistants among others — have been taking off, even as disciplines like philosophy, religious studies, humanities and Spanish stagnate or decline on the same campuses.

Whatever the university, the programs generally require basic courses in biology, chemistry and math. But unlike students with majors in conventional biology, for example, those in health science do not take many advanced courses in botany or invertebrate biology, concentrating instead on human biology. To read the entire article, visit www.nytimes.com/
2006/02/05/education/
05career.html?pagewanted=2.