February 8, 2011 - Edition 590 TG
Shoptalk

Industry Update

ED releases trial 3-year cohort default rate
ED has released a "trial" 3-year cohort default rate (CDR) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to help schools understand the impact of the new 3-year CDR calculation. ED previously released trial 3-year CDRs for FY 2005, 2006, and 2007 in December 2009.

New FFELP lender and servicer audit guides published
ED's Office of Inspector General published new audit guides for lenders and servicers participating in the FFELP. These guides supersede the previous guides published in December, 1996.

TG Report

Join TG for a diverse training experience — the 2011 TG Annual Training Conference
The 2011 TG Annual Training Conference has been tailored to serve the needs of a broad audience. This article provides a preview of the agenda's diversity, highlighting various sessions and session tracks of special interest to the higher education community.

TG offers regional trainings and default aversion workshops during February
Throughout Texas this month, TG presenters will provide regional trainings and default aversion workshops that feature information on the latest industry developments as well as the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues.

TG's FAFSA Info Center provides your students online help in completing the FAFSA
The FAFSA Info Center serves as an online utility for the FAFSA, supplying an overview of the FAFSA process, guidance on dependency status and family arrangements, and much more.

With AIE's help, educate your borrowers about private loans
TG's Adventures In Education (AIE) offers a basic comparison of alternative loans to federal loans for those students and parents considering borrowing outside the federal loan programs.

Policy Report

Common Manual updates
The latest revisions to the Common Manual are available.

Ask the Policy Expert — Program Integrity Issues: State Authorization
Q.: How will the new state authorization final rules that become effective July 1, 2011, impact schools that offer online programs?

Smart Solutions
TG offers a scholarship search engine through its college and career planning website, Adventures In Education (AIE™). Students can locate scholarships by name with a "simple" search, or enter a range of personal data with an "advanced" search in order to narrow results. AIE's Scholarship Search tool offers access to thousands of individual scholarships.
News Briefs

For the first time since 2000, U.S. data on college attainment by county is available. Using this information gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey, the Chronicle of Higher Education has created a sort of paint-by-numbers, interactive map, showing the percentage of each county's population with a bachelor's degree. The map also displays population density, median income, race and ethnicity mix, and male-to-female ratio. The result is both fascinating, allowing viewers with the roll of the mouse to compare counties by multiple variables at one time, and worrying, showing large attainment disparities between races in metropolitan areas. You can explore the map through the Chronicle of Higher Education website. Note that some content on the site is available by subscription only.