TG Updates

New TG financial literacy tool demonstrates the cost of a credit card shopping spree

Each year, an escalating number of students graduate with unmanageable levels of debt, partly because of credit card spending.

Many students obtain their first credit card expecting to use the card only for emergencies. But often the allure is too great, and many start using their new-found purchasing power to maintain the lifestyle their parents provided for them — or to support buying habits that pay little heed to the financial risks of credit card use.

A large number of such students, not understanding how credit cards work, may postpone paying the balance of their bills. In cases like these, students can find themselves stuck with mounting debt that will take years to pay off.

Learning the actual cost
Recently, TG unveiled a new tool to help students understand the true costs of buying on credit. This interactive Credit Card Skills Builder teaches students the credit card basics and demonstrates the cost of credit cards after finance and interest charges are added.

Available online at www.AIE.org, the Credit Cards Skills Builder guides users through a simulated credit card spending spree. To begin, the user selects one of three credit cards, each with different terms and fees. If the student is unsure of the meaning of certain terms, he or she can refer to an online credit card glossary.

Next, it's time to go shopping: The user selects items — a digital camera, T.V., tickets, or pizza, for example — from a virtual carousel. Though the display may be tempting, the user cannot exceed the given credit limit. Once the user is finished buying, the tool displays an onscreen tally of total purchases.

At checkout, the Credit Card Skills Builder provides a virtual credit card bill summarizing purchases, available credit, and amount owed. The user can choose to make a minimum payment, at which point the tool calculates how long before the balance will be paid. The actual cost of each individual item purchased, after adding interest charges, is also displayed.

Sticker shock
Paying just two percent, or close to the credit card's fixed minimum payment amount, can set the student on the long road to repayment. However, the Credit Card Skills Builder allows users to set a higher monthly fixed payment. In this case, students may be surprised at how much faster they can pay down debt by providing a higher fixed monthly amount and sticking to it.

The Credit Card Skills Builder makes clear how a few luxury item purchases on a credit card can turn into an unmanageable amount of debt. The tool is both fun and educational and may lead students to exercise caution before using their credit cards.

Find out for yourself
Learn more about the Credit Card Skills Builder tool by visiting TG's Adventures In Education Web site at www.aie.org/College/Paying/Earning/Credit/index.cfm.

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2008 TG Annual Training Conference materials available online

If you missed TG's 2008 Annual Training Conference, or couldn't make all the sessions you wanted to attend, TG offers the next best thing: workshop slides and handouts for a number of presentations. You can now view selected training materials from the 2008 TG Annual Training Conference on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/tgconference/presentations.cfm.

The presentation documents are made available in "Read Only" format. If you are prompted for a password, please select the "Read Only" option to view the presentation.

Another alternative
Some conference presentations are also available through the TG Speakers Bureau or through TG's Positive+Balance™ financial literacy program. You can browse the TG Speakers Bureau offerings at www.tgslc.org/speakers/index.cfm and find out more about the Positive+Balance program at www.tgslc.org/balance/index.cfm. Contact your account executive at (800) 252-9743 to schedule a training or learn more about a particular session.

More information
Please direct any questions about viewing the 2008 TG Annual Training Conference presentations to Judith Cunningham at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2905, or send an e-mail message to judith.cunningham@tgslc.org.

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Call for papers for TG publication on enrollment management

TG, in partnership with the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, publishes a refereed journal on enrollment management, titled Enrollment Management Journal: Student Access, Finance, and Success in Higher Education. In publishing the work of researchers and practitioners, the journal aims to raise discussion on campus enrollment, retention, and graduation rates, and, ultimately, help improve efforts in all these areas.

The journal will focus especially on issues of student access and success, and the role financial aid plays in whether students achieve their educational goals.

Along with its empirical or conceptual manuscripts, the journals will accept other work, including:

• Highlights of award-winning dissertations or programs,
• Book reviews,
• Commentaries, and
• Other short pieces that highlight timely issues in the field of enrollment management.

How to contribute
Authors should submit manuscripts for the journal via e-mail. Manuscripts should come in Microsoft Word® format and be sent to EMJ@unl.edu.

Ordinarily, manuscripts should be no more than 30 pages in length, and each article should be summarized in an abstract of not more than 150 words. Manuscripts should follow the style of the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Manuscripts are accepted for consideration with the understanding that they are original material and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Three referees will evaluate submitted manuscripts anonymously. Their goal is to complete the review process within 90 days of receipt of manuscripts.

To find out more
If you have questions, please visit the journal's Web site on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/emj. You may also gather information from the journal's editors. Contact Barbara Lacost at (402) 472-0988, or send an e-mail message to Blacost1@unl.edu. Contact Brent D. Cejda at (402) 472-0989, or send an e-mail message to bcejda2@unl.edu.

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