Federal Updates

Reauthorization DCL: First Flyover
ED released Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-08-12/FP-08-10, which provides a summary of most of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008's (HEOA) provisions that amended and reauthorized the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). While the DCL is largely a summary of the provisions in the HEOA, it does offer some details of interest to the financial aid community, which we will highlight in this and upcoming editions of Shoptalk Online.

Closed school corner
The Department of Education announces one new closure.

TG Updates

Join the dialogue: TG to host lender workshop in Austin
TG offers a strong set of application and loan products to its lender customers as well as a commitment to investing in more products that offer efficiency and cost-effectiveness. TG's upcoming Austin lender workshop provides a great opportunity for learning more about each of these benefits.

Set your training sights on 2009 TG Annual Training Conference
Looking for a conference that sheds light on a changing financial aid industry and that offers a firm grasp of policy and regulations? Consider the 2009 TG Annual Training Conference. For the last 17 years, TG's conference has presented a well-designed menu of workshops on industry and regulatory topics that earns consistently high marks from participants.

Product training: TG to offer webinars on Integrated Default Assistant™
TG is presenting two webinars for schools to learn how to best use IDA in managing their cohort default rate (CDR).

TG's "Building a Successful Financial Literacy Program" webinar available for free download
Many schools are considering financial literacy initiatives that ground students in the basics of money management. TG recently presented a well-attended webinar on the subject, "Building a Successful Financial Literacy Program," which offered a variety of strategies for developing campus financial literacy efforts.

TG and Council hold successful "School Dialogue on Student Debt Management"
TG and the Council for the Management of Educational Finance recently offered a webinar on debt management tools and tips that brought together schools from varying sectors of the financial aid community.

TG closed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
TG will be closed next Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. TG will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, January 20.

Trends and Issues

Policy potpourri
Many students now prefer to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) through the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) system, instead of completing a paper FAFSA. In answering student and parent questions about FOTW, it would be helpful for our financial aid staff to become familiar with the system. Is it possible to access FOTW for demo or training purposes?

Common Manual

Common Manual Updates
Information on recent updates to the Common Manual.

This, That, and the Other...

Students are becoming more creative as lender participation levels change and funding becomes a bit scarcer. Some students have turned to peer-to-peer lending sites, such as GreenNote, which focuses exclusively on making college loans. After creating an online profile, users can court a variety of financiers, including friends, family, and perfect strangers. Another recently launched Web site, GradeFund, provides a "barter zone" where students can solicit friends, relatives, coaches, even strangers, to "sponsor" their grades. Unlike the other Web sites, GradeFund contributions are gifts, not loans, which makes the site especially attractive to cash-starved students.

Learn more about these new approaches to financing an education at www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/dec2008/bs20081230_904840.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_business+schools.