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TG Updates
Use TG's List AssistSM to help document your lender survey process
TG recently unveiled a new electronic tool for creating and managing lender surveys used in producing a recommended lender list. Offered at no cost to schools and lenders, List AssistSM helps schools gather and compare lender data electronically. For lenders, it offers a convenient system for responding to surveys and downloading responses for reuse in other surveys, or Requests For Information (RFIs).
One of the notable advantages of List Assist is that it simplifies the survey process for both schools and lenders. For example, List Assist makes information-gathering easier by offering a ready-made library of questions from which to choose. It also provides an assortment of reports that schools and lenders can use to document their process, tabulate responses, and even print out for recordkeeping purposes.
List Assist's reports
To provide a better sense of how to use the variety of reports that List Assist offers, here's a short description of each report.
- Weights and Ratings — Document key aspects of the survey creation process with this report. The report includes the list of questions selected for the survey, the relative weights assigned by a school to each of the questions, as well as any pre-determined ratings for questions that require a single answer. The report also documents the school's description of rating criteria.
- Lender Scorecard — Print a copy of each lender's response with this report. A school can print all responses to a given survey or just the responses of a particular lender. The report offers the list of questions, the lender's response to each, and the rating the school assigned to each response, if one has been entered. The report is helpful especially for school committees tasked with evaluating lender responses.
- Survey Results — To produce a summary view of lenders that provided responses, print this report. Lender names and IDs will remain masked until the school has chosen to finalize the results of the survey. The report can be sorted by lender name, date received, or composite score.
- Distribution List — Use this report to print a list of lenders that currently have a survey. A school can use the report to confirm the accuracy of e-mail addresses.
- Single Question Review — Run this report to produce a cross-section view of a specific question. The report displays the question selected, the category of the question, each lender's response to that question, and the rating the school has assigned to the response, if it has been entered. This report is especially useful in comparing and evaluating lender responses, including numeric and free-text responses.
- Lenders' Response Report — A lender has the ability to print a school's survey request at any point, including before or after submitting responses. A lender can also download a comma-delimited (CSV) file of survey data, which may be used to load questions and responses to another system.
More about List Assist
To learn more about List Assist, view an online demo of the product. Visit TG Online at www.tgslc.org/products/index.cfm and click "TG List Assist Demo" in the right column. Or call your TG account executive at (800) 252-9743.
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TG co-sponsors study on student borrowing
A TG co-sponsored report just released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and Excelencia in Education contends that a large percentage of students do not use student loans to help pay for their college expenses, even if there is a financial need to do so. For many, the lack of funding or the choice not to use student loans could result in these students not acquiring a degree, potentially undermining their ability to realize the increased earning power a degree can bring.
The report, "Student Aversion to Borrowing: Who Borrows and Who Doesn't," highlights the borrowing patterns of students and provides insight about why certain students may not borrow. Interviews taken from students and financial aid officers, along with student demographic and enrollment characteristics, were used to formulate the basis of the study.
"An aversion to borrowing could be limiting college enrollment choices for some students, which is a possible indication of a larger problem that is related to student decision-making," said IHEP president Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D. "It is important to identify the patterns and behaviors of students who do not want to borrow in order to help financial aid administrators, high school counselors, and others target students who may need additional help in deciding how to finance their college career."
Many of the discoveries point to a borrowing divide along some racial groups; for example, Asian and Hispanic students are less likely to borrow than their White or African-American counterparts, according to the report. The study also found that non-borrowers may follow a family or ethnic culture related to taking on debt. Latino students and parents expressed reluctance to take on student loan debt for fear of not being able to pay back the loan amount. Instead, they prefer to use a "pay-as-you-go" system for attending college.
"The report helps substantiate our support of policies that increase the level of need-based grant aid for students," said Sue McMillin, President and CEO of TG. "There are many cases, however, where students choose to finance higher education by using strategies that undermine their ability to complete a degree. The more we understand how students make these decisions, the better able we are to provide all of the information they may need to make an informed decision."
In Texas, according to TG data, more than 80 percent of all financial aid awarded to students comes from the federal government. Nearly two-thirds of the aid to Texas students is in the form of low-interest, federally-guaranteed student loans, with the majority of the loans being taken out by White students.
"TG is pleased to have served as a financial supporter of this important new study," said McMillin. "As one of the leading student loan guarantors in the nation, we have an interest in how students and families choose to pay for college, and most importantly, how those choices may affect their success in attaining a degree or certificate."
To view the report
You can obtain a copy of the full report at IHEP's Web site at www.ihep.org.
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TG updates New Directions publication to help graduating students into repayment
TG offers graduating students a publication to support them as they begin repaying their educational loans and start their career after college. New Directions: A Guide to Repaying Your Stafford Loans offers graduating students useful information on their repayment obligations with regard to Stafford loans and provides tips on budgeting, estimating loan payments, deferment, forbearance, and avoiding default.
The publication also serves as a resource on other topics, including managing money; the student's rights and responsibilities as a borrower of Federal Stafford loans; the consequences of not handling repayment of a student loan; how to determine a loan payment amount; and the options available if the student has difficulty making payments.
Offer the booklet to your students who are graduating or about to graduate.
To order the booklet
To order copies of New Directions for your office, visit TG Online at www.tgslc.org/order/index.cfm.
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TG and University of Nebraska publish third edition of Enrollment Management Journal
TG, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has released the third issue of a scholarly publication on enrollment management.
Enrollment Management Journal: Student Access, Finance, and Success in Higher Education is coedited by Barbara Y. LaCost and Brent D. Cejda, professors in the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The publication features the work of researchers and college professionals and aims to help schools in their efforts at enrolling, retaining, and graduating more students.
Inside the issue
The current issue contains a wealth of information for both scholars and researchers. As with previous issues, the journal is broken up into three sections.
The "Scholarship and Research" section highlights empirical studies and conceptual papers that have completed a blind, refereed review. Articles in this section cover such topics as the relationship of student engagement to learning, student satisfaction, and the likelihood of persistence; the issue of dropping or de-registering community college students for tuition nonpayment; and developing an approach to successfully recruiting and retaining international students.
The "From the Field" section focuses on college programs that inform practice in enrollment management. Two pieces in this section describe institutional programs that focus on first-year students. The last entry in this section includes a listing of recently completed dissertations on topics related to enrollment management.
Finally, the "Legislative Update" section incorporates a focus on the federal level as related to college costs and financial aid. This issue's update begins with an overview of actions related to higher education taken by the 110th Congress and key issues in the FFELP that await action by the 111th Congress.
More about the publication
The Enrollment Management Journal is an initiative of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance. The refereed journal focuses on issues of student access and success, and the role financial aid plays in whether students achieve their educational goals. The Enrollment Management Journal, which is available by subscription, was published three times in 2008 but will become a quarterly publication in 2009.
To subscribe
To begin receiving the Enrollment Management Journal, subscribe through TG Online at www.tgslc.org/emj/index.cfm.
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Order your 2009 TG Calendar
If you're looking for a convenient tool for tracking conference dates and holidays, one that fits on your office or cube wall and doubles as a source of inspirational art for you and your staff, order the 2009 TG Calendar.
This year's calendar makes an informative addition to any office, listing all federal holidays as well as the dates for many industry conferences. Best of all, it's really two calendars in one — flip a calendar page and find a different layout for a given month. The different layouts let you use the calendar in the way you prefer.
Calendar's financial literacy message
Each month of the calendar mentions a different financial literacy learning resource from TG that you can offer your students. In times of economic change, students need to be equipped with sound money management skills and financial know-how. TG's many training tools provide information to help you provide your students with this knowledge. From interactive credit card reports to loan calculators and budget worksheets, TG's financial literacy resources offer a strong grounding in the basics of money management. The calendar pays specific attention to TG's comprehensive program of financial literacy training, Positive+Balance™. Positive+Balance features informative presentations for students and financial aid professionals on financial literacy topics such as credit, money management, and much more.
To order the 2009 TG Calendar
You can order the 2009 TG Calendar by visiting TG Online at www.tgslc.org/order/index.cfm.
To find out more about TG's financial literacy training
To learn more about Positive+Balance, you can speak with your TG account executive at (800) 252-9743. Or you can direct questions to Rett Anderton or Joe Braxton, TG's default aversion consultants. Rett Anderton may be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4765, or by sending an e-mail message to rett.anderton@tgslc.org. Joe Braxton may be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4696, or by sending an e-mail message to joe.braxton@tgslc.org.
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TG's holiday hours and Shoptalk Online publishing schedule
TG will be closed on Thursday and Friday, December 25-26, for the Christmas holiday and on Thursday, January 1, for the New Year's holiday.
Shoptalk Online will also be taking a short hiatus. You will receive your next weekly edition of Shoptalk Online on Tuesday, January 6.
Happy Holidays!
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