Federal Updates

Closed school corner
The Department of Education announces three new closures.

TG Updates

Meet Suzy Epley, senior technical support analyst for testing loans and certification
One thing schools or lenders want is confidence that their guarantor can deliver on service. TG's testing loans and certification (TLC) team is in the business of ensuring that confidence. Once a customer chooses TG, the business integration team begins connecting TG's systems with the customer's. The TLC team then verifies that connection with an exhaustive round of technical tests. They also certify that the institution is compliant with CommonLine (CL), the industry standard for managing and transmitting loan records.

Skill builders: Use performance appraisals to grow your staff's skills
When it comes to performance appraisals, financial aid offices are faced with some unique challenges. Part-time employees can look at their job less as a career and more as a stepping stone. Work-Study students often view the job as temporary in the scheme of things. Knowledge level varies and training isn't always available given tight budgets. And workloads make it hard to find the right time for a discussion that can be candid and productive.

Catch TG training at these conference events
Industry conferences work a bit like those ropes courses that teach teamwork and self-discovery. As with ropes courses, attendees collaborate in teams or network with colleagues and test professional skills in ways that make for better performance on the job. The objective isn't as challenging as climbing a pole 40 feet in the air, but the outcome is similar: stronger self-reliance through knowledge and training.

Order TG's teacher loan forgiveness brochure to educate your students and staff
Teachers are always in demand, especially at schools that serve low-income families. Congress established the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Program to attract people to the teaching profession and to retain highly qualified teachers in low-income schools. Through the TLF Program, a borrower who takes out a Stafford loan(s) for college and who teaches for five consecutive, complete years at a qualifying school may be eligible for up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness. A math, science, or special education teacher may qualify for forgiveness up to $17,500 of his or her loans.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
May a school increase the amount of an existing Stafford loan after the end of the loan period?

This, That, and the Other...

Dorm living is spawning a mini-industry that caters to the luxury demands of today's students. Service companies like DormAid, which charges a flat rate for a two-hour dorm room cleaning and a separate fee for laundry, are becoming a campus fixture in cities like Chicago and New York. Posh student housing is also in demand, with parents forking over large sums to see their son or daughter live in a communal apartment that features plasma television, granite countertops, and maid service. According to an article on CNN.com, more students are factoring in amenities like these when choosing a school. This is causing anxiety for some policy analysts who see universities keeping pace by offering student housing that may drive up the cost of an education.

To learn more about this trend, read the complete CNN.com article at www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/09/14/college.posh.life.ap/index.html.