December 15, 2009 - Edition 533 TG
Shoptalk

TG Report

Save the date for the 2010 TG Annual Training Conference
TG invites industry professionals at school, lender, servicer, and other industry institutions to the 2010 TG Annual Training Conference, set for April 7-9 at the AT&T Executive Education Conference Center and Hotel in downtown Austin.

TG schedules Financial Literacy Symposium for January
TG will hold the first of its 2010 TG financial literacy symposia on January 26 in San Diego, Calif. TG's symposia are designed to provide strategies for building effective financial literacy programs, offer insight on improving existing programs, and engage peers in informative discussions.

TG announces upcoming industry-training webinars
Join TG's policy and regulatory experts in the upcoming months as they continue a free webinar series on topics of interest to financial aid professionals, including current issues in the financial aid industry and financial aid fundamentals.

Open Access: TG and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln release the winter 2009 edition of Enrollment Management Journal
Begun as an initiative of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance, the Enrollment Management Journal explores a variety of enrollment-related subjects, including outreach strategies, financial aid policies, and successful retention programs. The winter 2009 edition of the publication features articles that consider open access in college admissions as well as examine the relevance and effects of open access in the community college, 4-year school, and for-profit sectors.

Industry Update

Senate passes omnibus spending bill
The Senate just passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Conference Report. The omnibus spending bill contains six separate spending bills. The omnibus bill reflects the priorities of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats on a host of domestic and international issues, including education.

Getting the gist of year-round Pell
Effective July 1, 2009, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) amended the Higher Education Act (HEA Sec. 401(b)(5)) to provide to students who met certain conditions up to two, consecutive Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Awards during a single award year (a.k.a. year-round Pell).

Closed school corner
ED announced one school closure for December.

Policy Report

Ask the Policy Expert
Is a borrower who misses a monthly loan payment, but pays a single payment amount the following month, 30 days delinquent on his or her loan? Does the clock go back to 0 days delinquent, or does the borrower need to make up all the missed payments to be current again?

TG's holiday hours and Shoptalk's schedule

TG will be closed on Thursday and Friday, December 24-25, for the Christmas holiday and on Friday, January 1, for the New Year's holiday.

Shoptalk will also be taking a short hiatus. You will receive your next weekly edition of Shoptalk on Tuesday, January 5.

Happy Holidays!
News Briefs

"Debt swap" became a dirty word during the recent economic downturn. Universities are giving the term a different connotation with recent programs designed to swap a student's education loans with grants. The catch is that students have to participate in financial literacy classes. Syracuse University in upstate New York offers an example. Financial aid staff at Syracuse select students for the "loan-swap" program based on various factors, including the amount of the student's debt, the number of lenders involved, and the ratio of private to federal loans. Students receive in the range of $5,000 to $7,000 per year. In return, students attend a financial literacy training session each semester. Read more about this approach to financial literacy training in the online edition of Chronicle of Higher Education. Note that a subscription is required to view some articles.