Federal Updates

ED publishes interim final rules for the FFELP and other federal student aid programs
ED has published interim final rules, effective September 8, 2006, for the federal student aid programs, including the FFELP.

ED provides clarification on PLUS credit check timeframe
The National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP) recently posted in its Daily Briefing that it had received communication from ED concerning its policy regarding the timeframe in which a lender must request a PLUS loan borrower's credit report when determining adverse credit history. Recent industry buzz had indicated that ED was considering changing its policy to a specific timeframe; however, ED confirmed in its communication with NCHELP that schools and lenders should "continue to use current processes."

TG Updates

TG offers two free telephone conferences on the interim final rules
As announced in this edition of Shoptalk Online, ED released a regulations package on August 9, 2006, for the federal student aid programs, including the FFELP. As a result, TG would like to provide its school and lender partners with an summary of these rules, to help you understand how they coordinate with the legislation on which they are based (most of them are derived from the statutory changes due to the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 [HERA]). Thus, TG invites you to join one of two free telephone conferences, titled "A look at the new interim final rules."

Reporting Back: 1994
The year 1994 found TG articulating a clear vision and recommitting to its core mission of assisting students to realize their dreams of higher education.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
Is it possible for a student to receive federal student loans from multiple schools during the same loan period?

Common Manual

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

Legislative Update

The August 10 issue of TG's Legislative Report includes an update on the third draft of the final report from the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education and business left unfinished as Congress begins its August recess. 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...

Faced with stiff competition for their traditional students, historically black colleges are now making a push to recruit Hispanics, reports CNN.

Black colleges that want to shore up enrollment numbers are revising recruitment strategies to include more members of the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority. The campuses are hiring Hispanic recruiters, distributing brochures that feature Hispanic students and establishing special scholarships for Hispanics.

To read the August 11 article in its entirety, visit http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/08/11/black.schools.hispanic.ap/index.html.