Shoptalk 538, February 2, 2010

TG Report

Register for TG's financial literacy symposium in Atlanta

TG is offering a series of regional financial literacy symposia in 2010. The second symposium, to be held on March 2 in Atlanta, is designed to help postsecondary schools enhance and promote their financial literacy efforts, which, in turn, help students develop critical financial skills.

The event, which runs from 9 a.m.-3:45 p.m. Eastern Time, will provide attendees with strategies for implementing financial literacy programs and offer insight into improving existing programs.

"Many colleges and universities are implementing on-campus financial literacy programs for their students," said Margie Harvey, TG financial literacy segment manager. "The symposia series provides a unique opportunity for those who are engaged in delivering these programs to learn from one another, collaborate, and explore new ideas."

The symposium agenda, which addresses an array of topics important to financial aid professionals, educators, and other student services professionals, includes:

Financial literacy (a school case study): From conception to execution, this presentation will offer helpful, real-world examples of how building and maintaining effective financial literacy programs can make a difference for families and students.
Roundtable discussion: This session will allow attendees to ask questions, brainstorm effective program strategies, collaborate with others, and develop potential ideas to take back to campus.
Creating, implementing, and assessing your own on-campus financial literacy program: Attendees will discuss best practices, lessons learned, and common concerns.
Building a community: This session will focus on TG's Positive+Balance Community℠, a social networking site created to foster dialogue among financial aid professionals who are developing and managing financial literacy initiatives. Registered users of the site can share best practices, connect with colleagues, and download useful presentations.
TG resources: In this session, attendees will explore how TG's offerings can support campus financial literacy efforts. Participants will also be able to share their ideas on improving TG's financial literacy products and resources.

To register
Join TG for the Atlanta symposium, or register for another symposium event 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.

Still time to register for TG's cohort default rate webinar

With the upcoming release of draft FY 2008 cohort default rates (CDR) on February 8, TG understands that schools may have questions and concerns about how to ensure the accuracy of the data used to calculate a school's draft CDR, and how to challenge the data contained in draft CDRs. Please plan to attend TG's webinar on "How to Challenge Your Cohort Default Rate," which will be offered twice on Thursday, February 4, from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Central Time, and again from 3 p.m.-4 p.m. Central Time.

The webinar will focus on the release of the rates and why it is important for schools to verify that data used to calculate the rate is accurate. Participants will consider the different types of challenges and the timelines for challenging rates. They will also learn what to look for in verifying CDRs. This webinar is intended for school staff directly responsible for monitoring and verifying the accuracy of a school's CDR.

To register
Register for these webinars through TG Online. Click each webinar link to begin the registration process. 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.

Four good reasons to attend the 2010 TG Annual Training Conference

If you're looking for the best investment for your training dollar, you'll find a great bargain in the TG Annual Training Conference. Each year, the conference offers interactive sessions on important industry topics, like financial literacy and default management; dynamic speakers and presenters; and an opportunity for exchanging insights with peers in the field.

This year's conference theme, "A New Horizon — Sharing the Journey," focuses on the evolving legislative and regulatory landscape and the collaboration of industry participants to prepare for change.

Attendees have praised past conference events for their interactive format and comprehensive agenda. But there are many reasons for attending a TG annual training conference. Here are just a few others:

Hear from the experts: Learn important industry information from TG professionals and other industry participants in diverse fields. Knowledgeable presenters and an interactive approach create a robust learning experience for attendees.
Add to your knowledgebase: Choose among learning tracks related to college awareness, financial literacy, default management, professional development, and TG tools. Use these learning opportunities to focus on topic areas important to your office.
Share insights: Talk about your own experiences and exchange ideas and best practices with industry peers. Learning isn't a one-way street; each year, participants help each other improve office performance and think constructively about student issues such as financial literacy.
Get inspired: Listen to energizing speakers who want to engage audiences and answer questions. Interactive sessions invigorate participants to return to campus and share their enthusiasm with coworkers.

Tracks and topics
This year's conference agenda will include a number of tracks related to college awareness, financial literacy, industry issues, default management, professional development, and TG products. Additional session information will be posted online as topics and speakers are confirmed.

Topics scheduled so far include:

Preparing the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA)
Financial Literacy Best Practices
Implementing Direct Lending — Office Considerations
Veteran Issues
How TG Can Help with Default Management
Transitioning to a Three-Year Cohort Default Rate
Making a Difference — One Student at a Time
Financial Aid Management System (FAMS) breakout sessions

Registration and accommodations
TG will offer a daily registration fee. Registrants can 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. The discounted rate to attend all three days is $75. Register by March 19, 2010, to avoid a $25 late registration fee.

The conference will be held at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center and Hotel. 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.

To register
Visit TG Online 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.

Sponsorship Note: TG neither solicits nor accepts sponsorship donations from the student lending community for this training event.

New claim and DAAR forms now available

The revised Common Claim Initiative (CCI) FFELP Claim Form and CCI Default Aversion Assistance Request (DAAR) Form, effective February 1, 2010, are now available on TG Online.

The Claim Form was first updated with Income-Based Repayment (IBR) fields in July 2009; revisions to the instructions were made in October 2009. Based on recent ED guidance regarding ID and IN claims and their applicability to IBR, instructions for Section X of the Claim Form were revised. The instructions to the DAAR form have been revised so that the definition of field 19 (Out of School Date) is now in sync with previous revisions to the corresponding field on the Claim Form, made in October 2009. Corresponding changes and a few other technical corrections, also effective February 1, 2010, have been made to CAM Chapters 10 and 11, and Appendices A and B. The new CAM update is version 1.3.2, replacing 1.3.1, issued November 1, 2009.

TG announces election of new TG Users Group board members

Three members have been elected to the board of the TG Users Group (TUG). TUG is a community of TG product users whose members share tips and ideas, suggest enhancements to current TG tools, and offer feedback for new and future products. Any TG product user — school, lender, or servicer — is considered a TUG member.

TUG board members are nominated and chosen to serve two-year terms. During their term, these board members participate in TG product discussions via conference calls, TUG meetings, TG product webinars, and the TG annual training conference.

Nominations were recently held for three vacant board positions. New board members were elected, including:

Desiree Nelson, business development/servicing specialist (San Antonio Credit Union) — Nelson began using TG products while working in the financial aid office as a work-study student. Since then, she has worked at both a school and lender. She is active on the Council for the Management of Educational Finance and the Association for Texas Lenders for Education (ATLE) board.
Lucy Peto, director, national sales delivery (Citibank) — At Citibank, Peto manages the customer Request For Proposal (RFP) process. She has extensive experience in writing, editing and responding to school RFPs. She has participated in many user group conference calls to help in the enhancement of various TG systems, including the online lender survey tool, List Assist℠.
Christy Young, financial aid advisor/loan coordinator (Blinn College) — Young has worked in higher education for five years, four of which have been in student financial aid. She is familiar with an array of TG tools, including AdvanTG Web™, TG Loans by Web™, and the Integrated Default Assistant.

For a complete list of TUG board members and bylaws, please visit TG Online.

Upcoming meetings
All TUG board members will be able to participate in upcoming "virtual meetings." During these meetings, members can provide feedback as well as participate in the planning of various sessions for TG's 2010 Annual Training Conference — A New Horizon, Sharing the Journey. TUG members will be notified of the times for planned virtual meetings.

Find out more about this year's conference, including registration and agenda information.