Federal Updates

A note about the lender of last resort
Industry news has recently been filled with discussion about a potential lack of lenders for FFELP loans and the possible need for lender-of-last resort (LLR) loans. LLR loans are one of the backstops available to help make sure that access to FFELP loans, and thereby higher education, is maintained. These kinds of loans have been around since 1994, which is when TG implemented its LLR program.

TG Updates

TG expands Charley Wootan Grant Program
TG's Charley Wootan Grant Program will award $2 million in direct grants during the 2008-09 academic year — $1 million to Texas students and another $1 million to residents of any other state, the District of Columbia, or any U.S. territory.

2008 TG Annual Training Conference focuses on latest retention research and other topics
The 2008 TG Annual Training Conference provides a foundation in the basics of managing a financial aid program but considers a host of other topics, including the latest research into retaining students through to graduation.

Three ways to learn about TG products: webinars, an upcoming TG User Group meet, and the TG Annual Training Conference
TG has consistently offered a wide range of training opportunities to our customers — the TG Annual Training Conference, regional training, teleconferences, and more. In FY 2008, TG has tried to expand the audience of our product training, by regularly scheduling product training webinars.

Latest Edufacts™ offers tips on searching for scholarships
Scholarships and grants, or gift aid, are the ideal form of financial aid for students, since, unlike loans, they do not have to be repaid. Unfortunately, many students do not bother applying for scholarships because they don't know where to search. The Internet offers a great starting point.

Trends and Issues

Mapping Your Future™ implements new Web site
Mapping Your Future recently implemented its redesigned Web site with a revised domain name — www.MappingYourFuture.org.

Question of the week
Is a student who is taking a couple of continuing education classes eligible for an in-school deferment on his or her FFELP loans?

This, That, and the Other...

A new study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that borrowing for an education is on the rise, which isn't surprising. However, what types of loans are being borrowed and who borrows them may open some eyes.

The report, Trends in Undergraduate Borrowing II: Federal Student Loans in 1995-96, 1999-2000, and 2003-04, updates a 2000 report, which performed a similar analysis of borrowing trends. Among the new report's key findings: About a third of all undergraduate students borrow federal educational loans; much of the increase in borrowing came in unsubsidized Stafford loans. Borrowing in these types of loans rose from 10 to 21 percent. Many borrowers are borrowing up to the limit of what they're eligible to take out. And the demographic growing fastest in borrowing are students from middle- to high-income families.

Read the complete article on the study at http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/03/19/loans.