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TG Updates

Shoptalk Online 490, February 10, 2009

TG Updates

TG to continue to subsidize federal default fee on behalf of students

TG announced on February 6 that it will continue to pay the one percent federal default fee on behalf of its borrowers for federal Stafford and PLUS loans for the 2009-10 award year.

The fee will be paid on behalf of all borrowers whose loans are guaranteed by TG, regardless of which postsecondary school a student attends or which financial institution issues the loan.

"Subsidizing the federal default fee provides a direct benefit to borrowers," said Sue McMillin, TG's president and CEO. "This decision reflects TG's commitment to help reduce expenses for students and families, many of whom may be facing challenges regarding college affordability during this current economic downturn."

This is the fourth consecutive year that TG will subsidize the federal default fee. TG has helped approximately 2.3 million borrowers through its waiver and subsidization of guarantee and federal default fees since 1999.

"We are very cognizant of how this decision directly affects students," said McMillin. "It is one of many benefits TG provides throughout some important stages of a student's education. TG has also worked to create a wide range of resources to help put borrowers first, including comprehensive default aversion and financial literacy programs."

The Deficit Reduction Act (Public Law 109-171) requires guarantors to deposit one percent of the amount of loans guaranteed and disbursed on or after July 1, 2006, into the federal fund. The federal fund is owned by the federal government and covers the risk associated with student loan default.

Well-received Enrollment Management Journal becomes quarterly publication

Because of its initial first-year success, TG has announced that its scholarly periodical, the Enrollment Management Journal: Student Access, Finance, and Success in Higher Education, has become a quarterly publication.

Contributors are asked to cover subject matters, such as admission standards, tuition, financial aid policies, uses of student data software, need-based and merit-based aid, and other issues that directly pertain to successful student enrollment. As the journal's publisher, TG aims to advance knowledge about these critical areas and make new and relevant data available to practitioners, researchers, and policy makers.

TG recently released the winter 2008 edition in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In this issue, the "Scholarship and Research" section focuses on conceptual manuscripts written by academic researchers of enrollment management, including:

"Bigger Can Be Better: Using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to Examine the Relationship Between Good Practice and Undergraduate Outcomes at a Large Research University" by John F. Ryan, Ohio State University;
"The Deregistration Paradox: Addressing Tuition Nonpayment as Part of Student Swirl" by Tom Pilarzyk and Yan Wang, Milwaukee Area Technical College; and
"International Students on the U.S. College Campus: Intercultural Communication and Enrollment Management" by Lynn Dee Gregory, University of Vermont.

The second section highlights enrollment management activities or strategies that have proven successful, such as:

"Required Learning Communities for Undecided Freshmen" by Mary Keenan, University of Minnesota – Duluth; and
"We'll Give You the Story; You Make it Your Own: Developing the Common Reader Program at West Texas A&M University" by Jessica Mallard, Russell Lowery-Hart, Amy Andersen, Mo Cuevas, and Kendra Campbell, West Texas A&M University.

"We believe the journal will become a resource to campus leaders and administrators, who are seeking new and additional strategies, or affirmation of current practices, to help them advance student success," said Jacob Fraire, TG's assistant vice president for educational alliances.

To learn more
For additional information or to subscribe, please visit www.tgslc.org/emj.

The Enrollment Management Journal, which is available by subscription only, is an initiative of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance.

Reminder: Upcoming webinar event

As described in Shoptalk Online edition 488, this month TG is launching a series of live, Web-based, cost-free training events, which will focus on current issues in the financial aid industry, as well as financial aid fundamentals. If you haven't yet registered for TG's industry training webinar scheduled for February 19, it's not too late.

Next week's webinar, which will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., is titled, "Introduction to the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP)." In this session, participants gain introductory-level knowledge of the key participants in the FFELP, develop an understanding of the phases of a loan, explore the types of loans included in the FFELP, and discuss the various participants involved in the FFELP community. They're also provided a functional overview of schools, lenders, servicers, secondary markets, guarantors, and ED.

To register
You can register for this webinar at www.tgslc.org/training/webinars/industry.cfm. Schedules for additional webinars will be published quarterly and announced in Shoptalk Online.

TG's Maria Luna-Torres helps students stay on top of debt

Few people understand the value of a higher education as well as first-generation college students. Just ask TG's Maria Luna-Torres, who was first in her family to get a college degree and experienced some of the trials of a first-generation student.

"Even though I was determined to go to college, it was a struggle convincing my family that I was going to move away after graduating from high school," said Luna-Torres. "They were afraid to let me go, not knowing what to expect."

As it happens, college offered direction to Luna-Torres in many ways, including a career path as a financial aid professional. While working on her bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University, Luna-Torres took a Work-Study position in the financial aid office. She graduated to pursue a full-time job as a financial aid counselor in the same office. Eventually, she even got a master's degree in higher education. According to Luna-Torres, her own experience fuels her desire to help students through each step of the college endeavor, from enrollment to loan repayment.

"I enjoy working with students and families in completing the financial aid process," said Luna-Torres. "It's intimidating for many families, especially those that are going through it for the first time, and I enjoy being there for them."

Guiding force
At Texas A&M, Luna-Torres found a vocation, helping students and families explore their financial aid options. She took her "calling" to a different level with a job on TG's educational alliances team. The job, as director of educational finance initiatives, requires a unique combination of talents — including financial aid expertise and consensus-building — for a position on a unique committee, the Council for the Management of Educational Finance.

In the mid-1990s, TG partnered with several other institutions from the student loan community to create an educational resource, or council, on debt management and default prevention. Made up of representatives from schools, lenders, and servicers, the council plans initiatives to help students repay their loans. They also strive to reach out to all those involved in student loans, from students and borrowers to financial aid professionals and even faculty members.

"I work with the council to determine areas of need pertaining to debt management, financial literacy, default prevention, and student success," said Luna-Torres.

The council sets annual projects and objectives, including media campaigns, on-campus trainings, and research into areas like enrollment management. Council initiatives are established every year at a planning meeting; committees are then formed to carry out those initiatives. Luna-Torres helps to ensure the group completes its yearly goals. She also works closely with all 18 members.

"I enjoy my role on the council," said Luna-Torres. "I get a sense of accomplishment from seeing an idea develop into a resource or outcome that ultimately benefits students. Of course, sometimes reaching consensus can be a challenge with so many passionate, dedicated professionals. However, I've learned that brainstorming and collaborating are essential to producing something great."

Shaping a better tomorrow
The council has developed many resources, including the white paper “Crisis Averted or Merely Postponed?,” which examines long-term cohort default rates, resolving defaults, and curing delinquencies. They lead or orchestrate other efforts, producing, for example, entrance and exit counseling materials.

"Schools have found these resources to be very helpful in conducting their loan counseling sessions, and we continue to receive requests for these tools," said Luna-Torres.

Another council initiative includes the Enrollment Management Journal, a joint TG and University of Nebraska-Lincoln publication mentioned in a previous article in this issue of Shoptalk Online. The Enrollment Management Journal is designed to help researchers and schools better understand the best practices for retaining and graduating students.

Luna-Torres says that there are a variety of other projects on the council's front-burner, including a publication on ensuring student success and an industry forum on debt management. She finds the variety both exciting and a source of motivation in an ever-changing field.

"I think we learn from each other on the council, which keeps things interesting," she said. "And, more importantly, I think that what we learn and create together really helps students and families in their educational goals."

To learn more
Find out more about the initiatives of the council. Visit TG Online at www.tgslc.org/council. You can also contact TG's director of educational finance initiatives Maria Luna-Torres at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4632, or send an e-mail message to maria.luna-torres@tgslc.org.

Make it fun: TG offers middle-schoolers a clue-finding puzzle on higher education

Planting the seed of interest in higher education at an early age is a smart idea. An aware student is more likely to explore his or her career options with the help of a degree. They're also more likely to seek out information on financial aid and other funding possibilities. TG provides an incentive to begin that learning process with a fun puzzle in the vein of "Where's Waldo?" Instead of an intrepid explorer, however, children have to find clues, and then place them in a separate tracking sheet to construct a final piece of good advice.

Offered through TG's college and career planning Web site, Adventures In Education (AIE™), the puzzle is a great way to make learning about college interactive and enjoyable. Students can use an online "magnifier" to find the clues embedded in the puzzle, which is made up of dozens of images of middle-school and young college students. By the end, they'll have understood a few facts about college and perhaps begun to think about their own path to a degree.

Find out for yourself
To view the puzzle, visit AIE at www.aie.org/Puzzle. Explore the rest of AIE by visiting www.AIE.org. If you have questions or need more information about the site's content, contact TG's communications team at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4588, or send an e-mail message to communications@tgslc.org.

TG closed on Presidents Day

TG will be closed next Monday, February 16, in observance of Presidents Day. TG will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, February 17.