Federal Updates

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

ED releases revised consolidation forms
Last Monday, ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) FP-07-05, which announces the availability of corrected consolidation forms.

Current special allowance rates: quarter ending March 31, 2007
Special allowance rates for the quarter ending March 31, 2007, are now available.

TG Updates

2007 TG Annual Conference draws heavy turnout with varied menu of industry workshops and seminars
More than 650 financial aid professionals attended TG's 15th annual conference, which was held at the Hilton Austin in Austin, Texas from April 3 - 5. This year, TG featured sessions on some of the most talked-about subjects in student aid today, including developments in reauthorization, identity theft, and the role of ethics in financial aid. All together, attendees participated in over 50 sessions, presented by dynamic and polished speakers like Education Finance Council (EFC) president Kathleen Smith and motivational consultant Matt Weinstein.

Spotlight on TG's Public Benefit Grant Program: College Forward
College Forward, an Austin-based nonprofit organization, prepares economically-disadvantaged students before they go to college with weekly classes on the admissions process, close mentoring, special workshops devoted to financial aid issues, and even a summer tour of colleges. They follow up once a student is accepted to college with a retention program that helps ensure students stay in school through to graduation.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
May a school credit a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds to a student's school account to pay institutional charges without the borrower's permission?

Legislative Update

The First Session of the 110th Congress continues until its two-week Easter recess. Both chambers are currently focused on the FY 2008 budget and appropriations process, which may take in other legislative topics like the HEA reauthorization. To learn more about the various education bills under consideration, read the full Legislative Report on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/lege_report/index.cfm.

This, That, and the Other...

The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education recently released a report that focuses on the obstacles which first-generation students face as they pursue a postsecondary education. Titled Straight from the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students, the study uses the first-hand accounts of first-generation or low-income students who took pre-college training through TRIO's Talent Search and Upward Bound and then went on to college. These students were asked a series of questions to determine what was most effective in getting them to enroll.

According to the report, financial aid education is very useful in raising college aspirations for first-generation students. It also helps prepare students for applying for aid and navigating the awarding and financial aid process. Other findings: tuition increases, stagnant grant aid, and the high costs of textbooks and transportation left many students struggling to pay for college. Also, most first-generation students opt to work rather than to take out loans, making it difficult for them to focus on coursework.

Nationally, about 35 percent of all college undergraduates (6.5 million current students) are first-generation. While approximately 61 percent of all high school graduates have parents who lack college degrees, only slightly more than half of those high school grads actually move on to college.

The complete article on the study can be found at www.nasfaa.org/publications/2007/rnpellreport040407.html.

You can also review a TG-produced literature review on first-generation students. Titled First-Generation College Students: A Literature Review, this publication summarizes various research studies related to first-generation college students and categorizes them according to issues of access, student characteristics, retention, pre-college intervention efforts, and college intervention efforts. The review can be found at www.tgslc.org/pdf/first_generation.pdf.