Federal Updates

S. 1932 brings big changes to the R2T4 provisions
Amid the overshadowing news of new merit-based grant programs and interest rate changes authorized by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (S.1932), some schools may not have had much time to become acquainted with the significant changes that the legislation has made to the return of Title IV funds (R2T4) provisions. This article outlines those changes, which all take effect July 1, 2006.

ED issues guidance for discharge and return of Title IV aid disbursed at schools affected by recent Gulf hurricanes
On Friday, March 3, ED shared guidance with the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) with detailed instructions for the handling of Title IV aid disbursements made to students who were scheduled to attend schools affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The letter includes instructions for lenders and guarantors in the treatment of FFELP loans and a list of thirty-three schools ED has designated as "affected." The letter also includes instructions for schools regarding the treatment of FFELP, Direct, and Perkins loans, as well as FSEOG and Pell grants, for an academic period that was delayed, cancelled, or interrupted due to a Gulf hurricane. Finally, ED has provided templates and sample worksheets for schools to use in reporting their discharge requests: the Aid Discharge Manifest (ADM) and Aid Discharge Summary (ADS).

TG Updates

Reminder: Participate in TG teleconference on distance education
Don't forget to attend the upcoming TG telephone conference — A Conversation about Distance Education — which will be held Thursday, March 9, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. CST.

TG implements encryption system
TG has long been committed to protecting our customers' and borrowers' non-public personal information (NPI). In addition to TG's secure Internet and Web-based environments, TG has implemented encryption software to protect NPI sent via .

Question of the week
If a school wants to cancel the full amount of one disbursement of a loan that has multiple disbursements, should it request a full or partial cancellation?

Common Manual

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

This, That, and the Other...

A small group of selective colleges is turning its attention to what may be an untapped reservoir of capable, low-income students: the 6.5 million people who attend community colleges, reports the Associated Press in a March 6 article. Historically, these students have been ignored by elite colleges, which recruit mostly at high schools and often accept few or no transfers because they want to offer a distinctive four-year experience.

Though the number of schools amounts to a relative handful, the hope is that the variety and prestige of the schools involved will persuade others to take a chance on students who have started at two-year schools for financial or family reasons.

A 2005 Department of Education study found more than one-third of 12th graders in 1992 who went first to community college and earned more than 10 credits eventually transferred to a four-year college. But few go to the most selective schools. On those campuses, typically only about one in 1,000 students transferred from a two-year school.

To read the article, visit www.cnn.com/2006/
EDUCATION/03/06/
colleges.poor.students.ap/
index.html.