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TG Updates

Shoptalk Online 512, July 14, 2009

TG Updates

More colleges and universities are taking on a task of growing importance: Imparting basic money management skills to today's students. To help schools in their endeavors, TG offers some great resources, including a dedicated Web site (the Positive+Balance Community^SM), student training (Positive+Balance™ workshops), and forums, or symposiums, on financial literacy.

TG's symposiums offer a setting for sharing practices on how to design an effective campus financial literacy program. The first 2009 Financial Literacy Symposium took place in Houston on Monday, June 29. Attendees heard from guest speakers and participated in small group discussions on developing and improving financial literacy initiatives for students.

Chicago symposium next week
School representatives who missed the Houston event still have time to register to attend the second TG 2009 Financial Literacy Symposium to be held in Chicago on Tuesday, July 21. Guest speakers will include Bryant Anderson, director of student financial services at Illinois College of Optometry, and Janelle Wade, assistant director of student financial assistance at Loyola University Chicago.

According to TG's financial literacy segment manager Margie Harvey, the symposiums provide a unique opportunity for financial aid professionals in today's student loan climate. "In addition to learning about their colleagues' financial literacy initiatives, attendees can share ideas on how to teach students about personal finances," Harvey said.

Register online
For more information about TG's 2009 Financial Literacy Symposiums, or to register to attend the Chicago event, visit TG Online.

For questions
To learn more, contact Margie Harvey at (800) 252-9743, or send an e-mail message to margery.harvey@tgslc.org.

Keep your students informed about repayment with TG's new brochures on IBR and repayment plan options

As students transition from college to career, it's vital to keep them aware of any federal student loan obligations they take with them. TG offers two new brochures to help students explore the variety of repayment options available. Order these brochures for your office lobby or provide them directly to students as mailings or handouts.

A new plan, a new brochure
TG's Income-Based Repayment brochure describes the newest repayment plan, which could potentially benefit a variety of borrowers of federal student loans, including those experiencing difficulties in meeting their student loan payment. For borrowers who qualify, Income-Based Repayment, or IBR, sets an affordable monthly payment based on income, federal student loan debt, and family size. TG's brochure defines IBR and offers a number of repayment examples that illustrate the possible payment amount reduction under the IBR plan. The brochure also describes how borrowers can apply for IBR and lists the types of loans that are eligible to include under an IBR plan. To help borrowers learn more, the brochure's back panel offers a list of TG's resources, including information about TG's IBR calculator, online help, and phone support.

Flexible, sensible repayment plans
Federal student loan repayment plans provide many benefits to borrowers, including flexible repayment terms. TG's Repayment Plan Options brochure offers a concise overview of the differences among plans, including the Standard, IBR, Graduated, Extended, Income-Sensitive, and Consolidation repayment plans. A table supplies a handy comparison of all plans based on sample loan amounts. The table compares plans by monthly payment amount, term limits, total interest, and total amount paid. For borrowers who find themselves unable to make payments, the brochure also offers a short description of deferment and forbearance.

To order the brochures
You can order the Income-Based Repayment and Repayment Plan Options brochures online. To order any of the items listed above, visit TG Online.

For questions about repayment
If you have questions about information available in the brochures, please call TG customer assistance at (800) 845-6267, or send an e-mail message to cust.assist@tgslc.org.

There's still time to register for this week's Federal Update webinar

It's not too late to register for TG's industry training webinar scheduled for July 16. The webinar, scheduled from 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Central Time, will feature information on the latest legislative and regulatory changes.

This Federal Update session will provide information on recent activities that may affect the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and other federal student aid programs. Updates will be provided on various issues including federal common forms, Dear Colleague/Partner letters issued by the Department of Education, proposed and final federal regulations, and pending legislation.

To register
Registration for this free webinar training is available at www.tgslc.org/training/webinars/industry.cfm.

TG releases the summer edition of Enrollment Management Journal now

In collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, TG has published the summer edition of the scholarly publication, the Enrollment Management Journal: Student Access, Finance, and Success in Higher Education. Each issue of the Enrollment Management Journal explores a variety of enrollment-related subject matter, including admission standards, financial aid policies, the uses of student data software, and successful student enrollment strategies. As the journal's publisher, TG seeks to advance knowledge about these critical areas and make new and relevant data available to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.

Inside this edition
The Enrollment Management Journal is divided into three major sections: "Scholarship and Research," "From the Field," and "Legislative Update."

This edition's "Scholarship and Research" focuses on a variety of empirical and conceptual submissions that have completed a blind, refereed appraisal. Here's a short overview.

"Influence of Orientation Coursework on Enrollment Persistence" examines whether a freshmen orientation course can be used to predict semester-to-semester persistence within a large, suburban community college.
"An Examination of Stratified Price Structures and State Resources on Public Postsecondary Education Participation Between 1960 and 2000" considers initiatives to provide accessible and affordable postsecondary education. The article uses student price response theory to examine enrollment changes in community colleges from 1960 to 2000.
"Far from Home: A Qualitative Analysis of Altered Social and Familial Interactions Among Students Attending College Significant Distances from Home" explores students' adjustments to attending universities far from home, including changes in their relationships with friends and family.
"An Examination of Selected Predictive Variables and First- to Second-Year Persistence at a Public Liberal Arts University" examines the use of selected pre-enrollment variables to predict first- to second-year persistence at public liberal arts universities.

The second section of the journal, "From the Field," focuses on programs that successfully employ enrollment management practice, including the following.

The Aravaipa Learning Community at Central Arizona College promotes retention of at-risk students by combining math and social science courses.
Creighton University's summer orientation program offers an immersion experience that introduces incoming students to a "typical day" at the university. The program has been found to decrease the number of students who do not matriculate in the fall semester.

Finally, the "Legislative Update" considers the current legislative changes occurring in terms of higher education administration. This section outlines the executive orders and legislation already signed by President Obama. It also offers an analysis of the potential impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on postsecondary education.

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.