TG Updates

Stanley joins TG as director of student persistence and success

Elizabeth Holland Stanley has been named TG's new director of student persistence and success. She has 14 years of experience in college enrollment and higher education services.

In her new position, Elizabeth will work with colleges and universities, state agencies, and educational associations to increase college persistence, retention, and graduation. She will manage a portfolio of innovative concepts to increase college access and success, including a refereed journal on enrollment management.

A strong background
Elizabeth spent the past six years in Austin with The College Board, a national nonprofit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. She held several positions with the organization, including chief educational manager for higher education relationship development, and interim vice president for the Southwestern Region.

Elizabeth was director of admission for St. Edward's University from 1999-2001, and also served as assistant and associate director of admission for the Austin private college prior to that. She began her career in 1993 as an admission counselor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and later served as the university's assistant director of admission from 1995-96.

Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern University, and a Master of Arts degree from St. Edward's University. She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Texas Association for College and Admission Counseling, as well as several other higher education associations.

"Elizabeth possesses a unique blend of expertise. She has a keen understanding of the challenges faced by low and moderate-income students in accessing college, and overcoming obstacles to stay in school, and in-depth knowledge of the enrollment practices among postsecondary education institutions," said Jacob Fraire, TG's assistant vice president of educational alliances. "Her expertise will be instrumental in helping institutions create practical solutions to student persistence and graduation."

To find out more
Elizabeth can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4914, or by e-mail at elizabeth.stanley@tgslc.org.

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New TG training model merges default aversion and student retention

Increases in college costs and a greater reliance on student loans are compelling institutions of higher learning to adopt new approaches in preventing student loan delinquency and default.

With that in mind, TG and the Council for the Management of Educational Finance have issued a second edition of "A Clear and Present Danger to Institutional and Student Success: A training model for embedding student loan default aversion within strategic enrollment management."

The training model is offered as a guide:

• to help schools support academic and financial success among students through early and sustained intervention and education;
• to encourage entire campus participation and support in promoting wise borrowing decisions by students; and
• to help institutions develop systemic default aversion efforts within strategic enrollment management.

The training model centers on four key components: identifying students, recruiting students, retaining students, and fostering and sustaining student connections on campus.

Jacob Fraire, TG's assistant vice president of educational alliances, said the training model is designed to help institutions build enrollment management and default aversion plans, which are more closely aligned with each other and which define the role of the whole campus community in helping students to successfully complete their education and prepare for loan repayment once they leave the campus.

"By aligning campus default aversion efforts within enrollment management plans, institutions will be better able to equip students with loan management skills that will allow them to focus on academic progress, while managing their finances wisely," Fraire said.

Case studies
The document also includes successful case studies from the University of Texas-Pan American and the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, each of which has implemented strategies for student retention, completion, and default aversion.

The Council for the Management of Educational Finance is a consortium of higher education professionals whose objective is to develop default aversion and debt management initiatives that promote success in higher education. The Council serves in an advisory role to TG.

The Educational Policy Institute, an international organization in Virginia Beach, Virg., dedicated to the study of educational opportunity, collaborated with TG and the Council for the Management of Educational Finance in producing the second edition of this training model.

To learn more
Copies of the publication may be ordered online at www.tgslc.org/order/index.cfm, or by calling (800) 252-9743, ext. 4732.

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Make sure your students understand alternative loans with TG's new brochure

At some point in their educational career, your students may consider an alternative, or private, loan. Ideally, students should first exhaust all of their other funding options — including federal, state, and institutional grant and loan programs. Generally speaking, federal and other such loan programs offer better terms and interest rates for students and borrowers. They usually come with more repayment options and provide more flexibility with regard to deferment and forbearance.

Given the multitude of alternative loan packages on the market, TG created a tool to help educate your students and borrowers — the Alternative Loans brochure. This concise publication offers information on the key differences between federally-guaranteed loans and alternative loans and offers useful tips on how to compare the two. With it, your students will be able to make a more informed decision when it comes to borrowing an alternative loan.

Consider offering this compact, easy-to-stow brochure as a handout in your office lobby or mailing it to students or borrowers inquiring about alternative loans.

Inside the brochure
The Alternative Loans publication clearly defines alternative loans and then answers the general questions many borrowers have about the program: What is different about alternative loans? How can I determine whether it's right for me? And what's the general process for applying for one? Here are some particular highlights.

• Get the big picture: Students and borrowers should learn as much as they can before borrowing an alternative loan, since so many lenders offer these loans on varying terms. The goal is to become as proactive and educated a borrower as possible.
• How does an alternative loan differ from a federal loan?: Before students go down the alternative loan road, they should be aware of some of the important differences between federally-guaranteed loans and alternative loans, including interest rates, loan fees and late charges, repayment options, and the need for endorsers. This section of the brochure compares the two programs in a handy table, which also features some questions borrowers should ask.
• How do I compare alternative loans?: When researching their options, borrowers should be sure to make an apples-to-apples comparison between alternative and federal loans. In this section, they'll learn some of the questions to consider such as the availability of repayment incentives.
• How do I apply for an alternative loan?: Before borrowing an alternative loan, borrowers should carefully consider their debt and repayment obligations on all loans. They should also determine how much they need to borrow by working out a budget of educational costs and subtracting all resources for those costs. Once they've decided on borrowing, this section outlines some general steps to follow in applying for an alternative loan.

To order
To order Alternative Loans for your students and borrowers, visit the "Online Forms/Publications" ordering page on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/order/index.cfm.

To learn more
You can always direct your student and parent borrowers to other sources of help as well as give them this handy brochure. For questions about federal loans or alternative loans, contact TG's customer assistance team at (800) 845-6267, or send an e-mail message to cust.assist@tgslc.org.

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