TG Updates

Dena Dobson joins TG as regional account executive for Illinois

TG recently brought on board Dena Dobson as a regional account executive for Illinois.

Dena spent the past three years as director of financial aid at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where she was instrumental in restructuring the financial aid office and significantly reducing the college's cohort default rate.

She previously worked five years for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services. Dena earned a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University — Edwardsville. She is also a member of the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (ILASFAA).

"Dena's experience in the student financial aid industry and her knowledge of Illinois make her an ideal addition to our expanding presence in the state," said Kevin Struckhoff, TG's assistant vice president for relationship management and consulting. "She has strong relationships that will serve her well in this new position."

To learn more
Dena can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 6741 or by e-mail at dena.dobson@tgslc.org.

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TG and St. Edward's University announce workshop on promoting student academic success

TG is pleased to announce that St. Edward's University will host the Educational Policy Institute's (EPI) Student Success Workshop in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, February 12, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The one-day workshop will focus on the following topics:

• Why students leave college
• The cost-benefit factor of student success
• Defining an institutional initiative
• Best practices in increasing student retention and success
• Moving institutions — strategies for campus change

About the speaker
Dr. Watson Scott Swail, who will lead the workshop, is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant, the president of EPI, and an international expert in student retention. Dr. Swail has conducted dozens of workshops and assisted over 200 institutions in dealing with student retention.

In this workshop, Dr. Swail will introduce his framework for student retention as published in the Jossey-Bass publication, Minority Student Retention in Higher Education. Institutions from around the world have used this framework. He has coordinated annual workshops called "Retention 101" and has worked with TG and others to broaden the discussion about retention.

To register
Registration for the Student Success Workshop is $295 and includes lunch and coffee breaks. Participants will receive session materials to share with their institution. Visit the Education Policy Institute's Web site to register. You can also call (757) 430-2200, or e-mail info@educationalpolicy.org. Spaces are limited to maximize the interaction.

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TG hosts webinar on using technology to reach first-generation families

First-generation students often don't have someone who can provide advice on the ins and outs of preparing for college. At the same time, financial aid professionals aren't always sure how best to communicate with this growing segment of students.

Bryan Taylor, founder of EduGuide

EduGuide: Partnership for Learning, a nonprofit based in Lansing, Mich., believes that technology can provide some answers. The nonprofit conducts research on just how best to use the latest Web-based technologies to connect first-generation students with financial aid information and resources. TG supports this work with a grant from its Public Benefit Grant Program for the 2007-08 academic year. On Wednesday, January 16, TG hosted a webinar conducted by EduGuide's founder, Bryan Taylor, during which he shared some of the organization's research findings.

The online connection
EduGuide's research focuses on "the issue of how do we engage families in meaningful ways to help them get on to a path to success," according to Bryan. In order to do this, financial aid professionals must understand how first-generation families differ from, yet are similar to, non-first-generation families.

Research shows that nine out of ten parents — across demographic groups — want their kids to go to college, though only half of all families have a child who graduates from college. While the percentage of first-generation families sending students to college is lower than average, the desire to achieve this goal is certainly there.

Conventional wisdom holds that first-generation families are not as "connected," said Bryan. They are less likely to have broadband Internet access at home and less likely to have cell phones and the latest tech gadgets. According to the research conducted by EduGuide, the situation is in fact more complicated than that.

"Online connectedness is driven by education, not race," Bryan says. Furthermore, lack of connectedness in one part of the family may be offset by other family members: "Teens often bridge the divide for first-generation parents. They're more likely to find other ways to connect if they don't have them at home."

Finally, while most college access professionals assume that less than 40 percent of first-generation parents are connected, the real number is closer to 80 percent.

Communication strategies for the electronic age
So what strategies should financial aid officers employ based on this research? First, schools should get into the digital communication world if they haven't already. "Grow e-mail address and mobile phone contact lists if you haven't already. Set up MySpace and Facebook accounts. Send text messages," said Bryan. Next, don't be afraid to employ the latest communication strategies. Some methods to consider include:

• Podcasting, which allows students to subscribe to prerecorded messages that they can download to their iPods;
• Textcasting, in which students receive text messages reminding them of important test dates and financial aid deadlines; and
• Phonecasting, which involves automatic phone calls similar to those used in political campaigns.

All of these services allow students to sign up to receive information in new ways — and most importantly, in the ways they feel most comfortable with.

Finally, financial aid offices should not feel compelled to employ all of these strategies at once. Try the strategy first that seems to suit your resources and student population. If that works — or if it doesn't — try another tack and see if you can reach new groups of students.

"It's not an all-or-nothing situation," says Bryan. Instead, the important thing is to get out into the digital world and start bridging the gap with first-generation families.

About TG's Public Benefit Award Program
To receive funds, organizations were required to submit proposals that addressed the issue of access to postsecondary education and that focused on the needs of first-generation college students, students from high schools with low college-going rates, and/or students who are underrepresented in higher education.

To learn more
If you'd like to learn more about TG's Public Benefit Grant Program, you'll find a description of its purpose and process on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/publicbenefit/index.cfm.

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