Shoptalk 543, March 9, 2010

TG Report

TG Annual Training Conference panel sessions to focus on financial literacy, default prevention

As the financial aid industry prepares for some of the most significant changes of the last quarter century, TG offers training to help manage the transition. The TG Annual Training Conference, which will be held from April 7-9 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin, features sessions on a variety of industry developments, including the shift to the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP).

Panels of industry experts will lead a number of conference sessions on such important issues as financial literacy and default aversion. Be sure to mark your conference agenda for these sessions, all of which are designed to broaden skills and prepare financial aid professionals for an evolving student aid landscape.

Panel discussions cover such topics as:

Community College Policy Nuts and Bolts — More students are choosing to transfer from a community college to a 4-year institution as a path to obtain a bachelor's degree. This session will describe a partnership between Texas community colleges and universities to help smooth the process for transfer students.
IBR Basics — This session on Income-Based Repayment (IBR) will present a high-level introduction to the IBR plan. Discussion will focus on how borrowers qualify for IBR, the forgiveness component of IBR, IBR benefits for borrowers and schools, and ideas for educating borrowers about IBR.
Creating a Successful Campus Default Aversion Program — This session will highlight the challenges of two very different campuses that both began their own default aversion programs with TG's assistance and used campus relationships to bolster their plans.
An Inside Look at Promising Financial Literacy Practices — Participants will hear from a panel of schools about the issues that institutions may face in starting a financial literacy program. Attendees will take away suggested successful practices.
Navigating Student Loan Disclosures — Melet Leafgreen of Texas Christian University will present with TG's David Garza on new disclosures required by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and recently published federal regulations. The session will focus on private loan disclosures and the applicant self-certification form.
Four Generations at Work in the Financial Aid Office — Leonard Gude of Regent Education will present a recent study on generational differences and its implications for work in the financial aid office. This session will review differences in life experiences and explore ways to improve workplace relationships between generations.

Review the complete agenda online.

To register
Visit TG Online to register. 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 to host March financial literacy symposium in New York

More schools are devoting resources to on-campus financial literacy programs, and for good reason. According to the latest College Board statistics, about half of all students at nonprofit schools borrow to pay for college; more than three-quarters of for-profit college students take out loans. Debt levels for these students can be significant, and a heavy burden as they graduate into a still-volatile job market.

TG supports schools in their financial literacy efforts, offering varied resources including websites, campus training, and financial literacy symposia in cities across the U.S. TG's New York symposium is a case in point. Plan to attend the free TG symposium scheduled for March 30 in New York, which focuses on strategies for strengthening a campus' financial literacy program. The symposium is designed to serve the needs of any school type.

TG's symposium, which will run from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, will offer the following sessions:

A financial literacy case study: Learn about helpful, real-world examples that show how effective financial literacy programs can make a difference for families and students.
Roundtable discussion: Ask questions, brainstorm program strategies, collaborate with others, and develop potential ideas to take back to campus.
Financial literacy content that fits your students: Be prepared to participate in activities designed to gather your feedback regarding what specific financial literacy content and combinations of topics best fit your campus.
Building a community: Learn about TG's Positive+Balance Community℠, a social networking site created to spur dialogue on financial literacy.
TG resources: Explore how TG's offerings can support campus financial literacy efforts.

To register
Join TG for the New York symposium, or register for another symposium event through TG Online.

To learn more
For questions about the 2010 TG Financial Literacy Symposia, please contact TG marketing segment manager Margie Harvey at (800) 252-9743, or send an email message to margery.harvey@tgslc.org.

Register now for TG's Positive+Balance Community℠ webinar

Registration is open for the next in TG's series of webinars that focus on various issues in the financial aid industry.

In this webinar, "Positive+Balance Community℠: Strengthening collegiality and sharing practices," participants will discover how TG's social networking site, the Positive+Balance Community, fosters dialogue among professionals developing and managing financial literacy initiatives. The site allows participants to share ideas and collaborate on the subject of financial literacy, as well as gain access to helpful, free resources. Finding and sharing credible statewide and national resources is critical to the goal of educating students effectively in financial literacy.

Participants will also meet TG's new director of financial literacy operations, Sharon Cabeen, who will discuss TG's plans to enhance the site as a collaborative tool for financial literacy practitioners and educators. Cabeen, who is an Accredited Financial Counselor with the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) as well as President Elect of the AFCPE Board of Directors for 2011, began her career in the nonprofit world working as an advocate for underserved populations. This experience led in turn to the field of nonprofit credit counseling management and financial education. A major part of Cabeen's work has been in the development of partnerships, both local and national, to include counseling, education, marketing, community outreach, and funding activities.

More information
To accommodate the schedules of TG's coast-to-coast customers, the webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 18, beginning at 10 a.m. and, again, at 3 p.m. Central Time. Registration is available online. If you are unable to attend the scheduled broadcast, a recording will be available for viewing shortly after the event in TG's archived webinars.

Revised TG brochure spotlights college- and career-planning website, Adventures In Education

TG's Adventures In Education (AIE™) website offers an online tool for preparing for college and career. Since 1995 when the site was launched, AIE has focused on an array of topics important to students and families, such as completing the FAFSA, obtaining the money to go to college, performing well academically, and planning for graduation.

Last year, AIE underwent a redesign to simplify navigation and provide a more user-friendly experience to students and other audiences. The site also consolidated its financial literacy offerings in one section, showcasing budgeting and credit card tools as well as online trainings such as Money Management 101. A revised AIE brochure on the website guides students and parents through the new AIE, focusing on key resources in each section. Available in Spanish and English, the brochure explains AIE's tools for researching college, exploring career goals, and learning more about financial aid. Stock the brochure in your office lobby or consider mailing it to students and parents.

Order the brochure
You can order the AIE brochure by visiting TG Online.

Offer AIE's primer on resumé-building for your graduating students

Drafting a resumé is one of those rites of passage for a graduate that can incite both anxiety and procrastination — neither of which are good for job hunting. TG's Adventures In Education (AIE™) offers help with a suite of Web pages on "Writing Your Resumé." These pages guide students through building a resumé and supply tips on honing resumé language so that prospective employers take notice. Highlights of AIE's resumé resources include:

Developing your resumé — Honesty, directness, and brevity are important goals in drafting up a winning resumé. Spotlight accomplishments and credentials but speak to the requirements of the sought-after job. Also, gather feedback on the resumé from multiple readers.
Common resumé questions — Students often have lots of questions before they put pen to paper for that initial resumé draft ("Should it be one page?" "Is an objective necessary?"). You can anticipate these questions and provide quick answers with this FAQ section on resumé-writing.
Skills for any resumé — Particular skills have the effect of buzzwords and can help pull a resumé from a stack. Skills such as "problem-solving" serve to emphasize an applicant's constructive approach to work.
100 great resumé words — Verbs rule on a resumé, offering the action that creates a strong first impression. A broad vocabulary can also incite an employer's interest and prompt an interviewer to want to learn more.
Common resumé mistakes — Most resumé-writers make mistakes on their initial draft, including using passive voice, stretching the truth about experience, or offering a vague explanation of a previous job. This list of common errors will help students bypass potential issues.
Cover letters — Cover letters as much as resumés spotlight a candidate's communication style and, as such, offer a picture of his or her personality. This short introduction to cover letter-writing summarizes the right things to convey in a cover letter (talk about your aspirations and what you can offer) and how to say them.

Learn more
Explore AIE's varied resumé resources for yourself, then offer it to your students.