May 18, 2010 - Edition 554 TG
Shoptalk

Industry Update

ED updates Loan Purchase Programs Electronic Announcement #81
ED updated the Loan Purchase Programs Electronic Announcement (E-ANN) #81 to provide clarification on information needed for the Loan Sale File Layouts, specifically Record 07-Disbursement Data Record.

Advanced Payment information posted for Pell, ACG and National SMART Grant programs for 2010-11 Award Year
ED announced that it has begun processing the Federal Pell Grant Initial Authorization for the 2010-11 Award Year for schools that receive Pell Grant funds under the advanced payment method.

ED to reprocess 2010-11 ISIRs to identify eligible students based on revised Pell schedules
ED will reprocess about 250,000 Institutional Student Information Records for applicants who applied for the 2010-11 award year before May 6, 2010, and who may now be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant.

Additional corrections released for 2009-10 Federal Student Aid Handbook
ED posted additional items to its errata and updates for the 2009-10 Federal Student Aid Handbook (FSA Handbook).

Guidelines updated for aid to students whose parents died in Iraq or Afghanistan
ED provided an update on the operational implementation of increased Title IV student assistance to children of certain deceased members of the U.S. Military.

TG Report

TG's upcoming webinars focus on timely industry topics
In the upcoming months, TG's policy and regulatory experts will continue a free webinar series on topics of interest to financial aid professionals, including the use of professional judgment, veterans issues, cohort default rates, and customer service.

Join TG at upcoming association conferences
Association conferences offer a great forum in which to examine regulatory and legislative developments — such as Income-Based Repayment, the newest repayment plan — as well as consider trends in industry issues such as financial literacy and office practice. TG offers sessions on all these topics at upcoming conferences in Virginia, Florida, and Mississippi.

Enhance your default prevention efforts with TG's trainings
Your borrowers need information to make the right decisions if difficulties should arise in their student loan repayment. Campus-based default prevention offers one way of supplying that information. To help you in your work, TG offers workshops on repayment as well as trainings on the newest regulatory developments affecting default prevention, including the 3-year cohort default rate.

Smart Solutions
Designing a default prevention program for your campus? TG's default aversion consultants can answer your questions about what to include, how to implement a program, and what measures of success to consider. To learn more, call (800) 252-9743, or send an email message to TG's default aversion consultants.
News Briefs

Colleges have their traditions. In some cases, you can see those traditions embodied in campus landmarks — walls, park benches, or other notable spots often decorated by a graduating class of seniors. The New York Times recently invited student photographers to snap pictures of some of these landmarks, which can feature student signatures, general messages to the campus, or an image designed and created by seniors to commemorate their class graduation.