Federal Updates

ED releases final rules for loan-related provisions
ED issued proposed rules for the federal student loan programs, as a result of the negotiated rulemaking (Neg Reg) process that occurred in early 2008.

TG Updates

Updated integrated regulations available on TG Online
TG is pleased to announce the availability of a new integrated regulations compilation for our customers. The new compilation incorporates changes from the final rules that were published on October 23, 2008.

Mark your calendar for TG’s webinars on its new lender survey tool, List Assist^SM
List Assist^SM, TG’s forthcoming lender survey tool, provides a convenient, electronic way to gather lender information for a recommended or suggested lender list. TG will offer two webinars on List Assist in early November.

Learn, grow, lead: Find out how TG's Financial Aid Leadership Symposium can help you hone your leadership skills
Leadership workshops designed specifically for financial aid professionals are few and far between. In fact, TG's Financial Aid Leadership Symposium is unique in its complete focus on the skills needed to be a leader in the financial aid arena.

Trends and Issues

Policy Potpourri
Can you tell me about the new loan forgiveness program for areas of national need created by the HEA reauthorization?

This, That, and the Other...

College graduates are leaving school with an average debt burden of more than $20,000, an amount that outpaces any growth in starting salaries, according to the Project on Student Debt, an Initiative of The Institute of College Access and Success.

Graduates of the class of 2007 carried six percent more student loan debt than the class of 2006, while starting salaries for recent graduates rose just three percent in the same period.

Over the past decade, debt levels for graduating seniors with student loans more than doubled. At public universities, debt levels increased some 116 percent. At private universities, indebtedness grew by 95 percent.

Students in Iowa and New Hampshire graduate with the highest debt levels: $26,208 and $25,211, respectively. Those in Utah have the lowest average debt at $13,266. South Dakota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Iowa have the highest proportions of students graduating with student loans, at 81 percent, 75 percent, 74 percent, and 73 percent, respectively.

Learn more about these recent findings by reading the complete press release at http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/2007_state_debt_NR.pdf.