Federal Updates

ED announces approval of the total and permanent disability loan discharge application
On Monday, July 31, ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-06-14, announcing the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval of the Loan Discharge Application: Total and Permanent Disability. The DCL also provides guidance on the implementation of the newly approved form.

ED announces new credit bureau reporting information for TPD and death discharges
Last month, ED released an electronic announcement publishing changes to credit bureau reporting for assignments to ED's Conditional Disability Discharge Unit. The Conditional Disability Discharge Unit monitors a borrower's loan(s) during the conditional period after ED has made an initial determination that the borrower is eligible for loan discharge due to total and permanent disability (TPD) and the loan(s) has been assigned to ED.

TG Updates

Watch for the updated Adventures In Education website
On Tuesday, August 8, TG will launch its newly designed public-service website, Adventures In Education (www.AIE.org).

TG en español: Bilingual resources ease path to school for Spanish-speaking students
While the Hispanic population in the United States is continuing to grow, fewer Hispanics per capita are receiving degrees than their non-Hispanic counterparts.

Reporting Back: 1993
TG's Annual Report for 1993, titled "Future Focus," describes a corporation adjusting to new circumstances — such as the introduction of the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDSLP) and the possible elimination of the FFELP — while continuing to focus on its core mission of increasing access to higher education.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
What are a school's responsibilities if the school unknowingly delivers loan funds to a deceased student or parent borrower?

Edufacts™ — July 2006
This month Edufacts looks at how dropping out of school before degree completion can have an adverse effect on student loan repayment.

Legislative Update

The July 26 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes an update on Congress's Month Long August Recess; House, Senate Pass Labor, Health and Human Services, Education FY 2007 Appropriations Bills; and the Secretary's Higher Education Commission Second Draft Report. 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...

For generations, college-bound students in the South have visited colleges along the interstate from the heart of North Carolina into the northwest corner of South Carolina. In the last few years, thousands of students from the North have joined the caravan, according to The New York Times.

Because of aggressive marketing directed squarely at affluent neighbors and a confluence of other factors, students from the Northeast have become the campuses' fastest growing pool of applicants. Some admissions officials note interest from the previously ambivalent Midwest.

This demographic change has taken some getting used to for Southern and Northern families, alike.

To read the July 30 article, visit www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/education/edlife/south.html?ref=education. Free site registration may be required.