Federal Updates

Charting new territory in study-abroad disbursements
As schools begin processing FFELP awards for the upcoming fall semester, and students finalize their study-abroad plans, it is important to be aware of a change in the disbursement rules for students enrolled in study-abroad programs.

ED announces approval of FFELP Stafford and PLUS MPNs
On Tuesday, May 23, ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) FP-06-08, announcing the OMB approval of the FFELP Stafford and PLUS Master Promissory Notes (MPNs). The DCL also provides guidance on the implementation of the newly approved forms.

TG Updates

E-mail encryption and TG Loans By Web™
Over the past few months, TG has been implementing an e-mail encryption program to help protect our customers' non-public, personal information (NPI).

Reporting Back: 1989
By 1989 TG was entering a new phase in its history. With a larger than ever number of team members, a cache of diversified and sophisticated services, and a successful Sunset review by the state's Sunset Advisory Commission, TG had become an established resource for financial aid industry professionals, while always keeping its eyes on the future.

Question of the week
Can a borrower be denied a student loan because he or she has filed bankruptcy?

This, That, and the Other...

ED recently announced, in a response to a letter from the National Governors Association, that qualifying dual-enrollment students (i.e., students who take college courses while still in high school) will be eligible for the new Academic Competitiveness Grant, which takes effect in just about a month, on July 1, 2006.

ED had originally stated that such students would not be eligible for the grant because the program, created under the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), excludes students who have previously enrolled in a program of undergraduate education. ED has stated that dual-enrollment students may qualify for the new grant as long as they do not enroll in a formal degree or certificate program.

For more information about the Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grant Programs, see Shoptalk Online editions 355 and 351.