Shoptalk 533, December 15, 2009

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.

The TG Annual Training Conference has historically drawn several hundred financial aid professionals from around the country during the spring conference season. Participants have praised previous events for their well-organized agenda focused on regulatory and industry subjects; the strong quality of presenters; and the informative and dynamic exchange of ideas during many sessions.

This year's conference theme, "A New Horizon - Sharing the Journey," focuses on the evolving legislative and regulatory changes within the student financial aid industry and the collaboration of industry participants to prepare for these developments.

The agenda will include a number of tracks related to college awareness, financial literacy, default management, professional development, and TG tools. Additional session topics information will be posted to TG Online as session topics and speakers are confirmed. However, several topics have been confirmed, including sessions on implementing a financial literacy program, the new three-year cohort default rate calculation, entrance and exit counseling, default aversion best practices, and Financial Aid Management System (FAMS) sessions.

The conference will be held at a new conference center and hotel venue. In other changes, participants will be able to choose their dates of attendance or register for the full event. Attendees will be able to attend all three days, a full day of sessions on Thursday, or half-day sessions on Wednesday and/or Friday.

"Each year, the TG Annual Training Conference provides a learning opportunity for both attendees and TG team members," said Vickie Tanner, assistant vice president for product training and event management. "TG, and experts from throughout the industry, are able to share important information and knowledge with financial aid professionals. In return, TG learns what's important to our customers — which helps TG remain responsive to our customers' needs."

Conference information

Registration: TG will offer a daily registration fee.
- Attend a full day of sessions (Thursday, April 8) for $50, or attend the half-day sessions (Wednesday, April 7 or Friday, April 9) for $25 each day.
- Attend all three days for a discounted rate of $75. Register by March 19, 2010, to avoid a $25 late registration fee.
Accommodations: Hotel reservations may be made by calling (877) 744-8822 (toll free) or (512) 404-3600 (local). Ask for the group code TGCONF0410 (for the group rate of $149) or group code TGSTAT0410 (for the state/government rate of $115).
Sponsorship Note: TG neither solicits nor accepts sponsorship donations from the student lending community for this training event.

To register and to learn more
Visit TG Online at www.tgslc.org/tgconference/index.cfm to register or to find out more about the 2010 TG Annual Training Conference. If you prefer to speak with someone directly, contact TG's event planning coordinator Judith Cunningham at (800) 252-9743, ext. 2905, or send an email message to judith.cunningham@tgslc.org.

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, California. 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.

Of the five symposia scheduled for 2010, two (including the San Diego symposium) will serve proprietary schools working to advance their financial literacy efforts in order to serve students better. Three additional symposia will address the financial literacy needs of all schools.

TG 2010 Financial Literacy Symposia Calendar
This year, TG offers more symposium events to extend the opportunity to attend to more participants and to provide a choice of locations.

For proprietary schools:
Tuesday, January 26, San Diego, CA
Tuesday, March 30, Philadelphia, PA

For all schools:
Tuesday, March 2, Atlanta, GA
Tuesday, June 1, Austin, Texas
Tuesday, June 8, Columbus, Ohio

To register
Join TG for one of the 2010 financial literacy symposia by registering through TG Online.

To learn more
For questions about the 2010 TG financial literacy symposia, please contact Margie Harvey, TG's financial literacy segment manager, at (800) 252-9743, or send an email message to margery.harvey@tgslc.org.

TG announces upcoming industry-training webinars

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

Interested participants need only a computer with Internet access and the ability to use speakers or headphones. TG will provide presentation materials for each session, which can be downloaded, viewed, or printed. A Q&A will follow the presentation portion of each session.

Please note the change below in the times of scheduled webinars. A second session for each topic has been added in order to provide greater flexibility for customers in differing time zones. Generally, each webinar will be offered twice on the third Thursday of each month, at 10 a.m. Central Time and 3 p.m. Central Time. Also note that, for convenient, on-demand training sessions, each webinar is posted to TG's online webinar archive within a day or two of the broadcast.

Join TG for the following webinars:

Verification in the financial aid office — Thursday, January 21, 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Central Time, and 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Central Time

Whether you're a new or experienced aid administrator, verification can be a frustrating and intimidating process without the right knowledge and tools. In this session, we'll review basic verification requirements; discuss what information must be verified versus what schools may choose to verify; and address recurrent questions and difficult situations.
How to challenge your cohort default rate — Thursday, February 4, 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Central Time, and 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Central Time

Ensuring the accuracy of the data used to calculate a school's draft cohort default rate (CDR) is an essential factor in managing CDRs. This webinar will describe the process for challenging data contained in draft CDRs. The webinar will also discuss the release of the rates and why it is important for schools to verify that the data used to calculate the rate is accurate. Schools will learn about the different types of challenges and the timelines for challenging rates. They will also receive tips on what to look for in their data when verifying CDRs. This webinar is intended for school personnel directly responsible for monitoring and verifying the accuracy of a school's CDR.
Is your student dependent or independent? Interpreting dependency status rules — Thursday, February 18, 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Central Time, and 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Central Time

This webinar considers the provisions and policies on student dependency status. Discussion will focus on what makes a student dependent or independent for federal student aid purposes; how to exercise professional judgment to grant a dependency override; and what discretion a financial aid administrator has to help a dependent student who lacks parental support. New and veteran financial aid professionals are encouraged to participate in this session. All attendees will come away with valuable information.

To register
You can register for these webinars at www.tgslc.org/training/webinars/industry.cfm. Click each webinar link to begin the registration process.

Schedules for additional webinars will be published regularly and announced in Shoptalk.

Open Access: TG and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln release the winter 2009 edition of Enrollment Management Journal

Since 2007, TG has published a resource for researchers and higher education professionals working to understand issues of college access and success. Begun as an initiative of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance, the Enrollment Management Journal: Student Access, Finance, and Success in Higher Education (EMJ) explores a variety of enrollment-related subjects, including outreach strategies, financial aid policies, and successful retention programs. In collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, TG has published the winter 2009 edition of the publication.

Inside this issue
This issue of the EMJ 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. Here's a closer look at particular articles.

"An Overview of Open Access Institutions" — During the past year, open access institutions have been the focus of the enrollment management committee of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance. This paper presents a summary of the committee's discussion of the topic and serves as an introduction to the topics covered in this issue that provide valuable insight to practitioners and researchers interested in open access policy.
"Access in U.S. Higher Education: What Does the For-Profit Sector Contribute?" — In the U.S., the private sector includes both nonprofit and for-profit forms. This article compares for-profit schools with public and nonprofit institutions to determine how they contribute to overall access in the U.S. system. The comparison demonstrates the role of for-profit higher education and considers the scope of programs offered, the numbers and types of students served, and the cost of providing access in a for-profit model.
"A Primer on Student Loans" — Student loans have become a primary source of funding for students who attend open access institutions. Many of these students are the first from their families to pursue postsecondary education and have difficulty determining the most appropriate type of loan for their specific circumstances. This article presents a comprehensive overview of student loans to enable all who interact with students — not just financial aid counselors — to provide information about financial aid.
"Assessing Postcollege Earnings of Career and Technical Education Students in Iowa Community Colleges" — Career and technical education (CTE) programs are a key link to career paths for many students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between educational attainment, individual characteristics, and postcollege earnings for students enrolled in Iowa community colleges. Analysis for all students by gender, age, and Pell grant status is presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice, policy, and research.

From the field
The "From the Field" section focuses on activities and programs that reflect and inform practice in enrollment management. The first article in this section provides an overview of the history of open access policies, their impact on college-going rates, and the current status of open access policies in different types of schools. The second article focuses on a program to help retain African-American males at a college in the Midwest.

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