Federal Updates

Loan Purchase Programs update
ED published Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans (ECASLA) announcement #67, which announces a 0.91 percent participant yield rate for the quarter ending September 30, 2009.

New NSLDS guidance released
ED has recently posted three new pieces of NSLDS reference materials to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

Current special allowance rates: quarter ending June 30, 2009
Special allowance rates for the last quarter are now available.

TG Updates

Latest TG product enhancements can offer peak season support
This spring, TG released enhancements to AdvanTG Web™ and TG Loans By Web™. As schools and lenders process loans during the peak season, these enhanced products may provide for greater efficiency and convenience.

TG adds IBR webinar date
To help schools understand IBR, TG offers two "IBR Basics" webinars, one planned for August 5 and an additional webinar offering the same content for August 20.

Order your 2009-10 TG Academic Year Planner
TG's Academic Year Planner for the 2009-10 year offers financial aid professionals a well-designed planner that comes with ample space for recording important dates as well as beautifully stylized illustrations for each month.

TG's bilingual resources offer help to Spanish-speaking students
TG works to provide an extensive set of financial aid information online in Spanish, as well as an easy-to-order print collateral on college access in English and Spanish and an English-Spanish Glossary, which translates common financial aid terms into Spanish.

TG-supported program offers loan substitute to Appalachian college students
Holmes County Education Foundation (HCEF) offers a unique support service called the Loan Substitute Program. In place of regular federal student loans for the first year of college, the program awards need-based financial aid, or about $3,500.

Common Manual

2009 Common Manual update available
The 2009 annual update to the Common Manual is now available. This update includes all of the policies approved since July 1, 2008.

This, That, and the Other...

The days of bland cafeteria food with the occasional salad bar thrown in are long gone on many college campuses. In response to changing tastes, more colleges are catering to refined palates with organic foods, cuisine from around the world, and the option to take prepared meals home.

Sodexo, a food service and facilities management company that works with 600 campuses in North America, offers a menu which features a variety of international favorites, including Vietnamese pho, or noodle soup, and Spanish mole.

Chartwells, a company that serves the dining halls of Ohio Wesleyan University, provides take-away meals, as well as a program called "My Pantry," where students can have food individually prepared, or even do their own cooking. Read more online about the latest culinary trends on campus.