March 29, 2011 - Edition 597 TG
Shoptalk

Industry Update

ED issues guidance on school participation in the Federal Direct Loan Program
On March 22, 2011, ED published clarifying guidance regarding a school's participation in the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-11-07 addresses several topics.

ED provides additional guidance on ability-to-benefit testing procedures
On October 29, 2010, ED published final regulations on 14 program integrity issues. In Dear Colleague Letter GEN-11-08 published on March 25, 2011, ED provides additional guidance on the program integrity provision regarding ability-to-benefit (ATB) testing.

TG Report

Federal, state updates to be featured at TG Annual Training Conference
For the 2011 TG Annual Training Conference, representatives from the Department of Education (ED), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and numerous industry and TG experts will present a varied agenda, rich in industry information and timely topics.

College-focused entrepreneur and personal finance expert to deliver keynote at TG Annual Training Conference
Ramit Sethi, the New York Times bestselling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, will present the keynote address on Wednesday, April 27, at 8:30 a.m. during the opening session of the TG Annual Training conference.

TG announces application period for Charley Wootan Grant Program
In keeping with its commitment to help students pay for a postsecondary education, TG has provided $5 million to its Charley Wootan Grant Program for the 2011-2012 academic year. TG's Board of Directors allocated $4 million to be awarded to students from Texas, and the remaining $1 million to students residing in other states.

TG provides key date information regarding retirement of loan management and disbursement services
TG will retire AdvanTG Web™, its loan management system, and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), its electronic disbursement tool for federal and private loans, on June 30, 2011. TG will also retire Real Time Access, its online tool for accessing FFELP loan data as it currently exists on TG's servers, on October 31, 2011.

TG announces upcoming topics for ongoing industry webinar series
TG's free webinar series on industry topics continues over the next few months. TG will provide presentation materials for each session, which can be downloaded, viewed, or printed. Time for Q&As will follow the presentation portion of all sessions.

Con Mi MADRE: Texas access program taps into the power of the mother-daughter bond
Con Mi MADRE, an outreach program based in Austin, Texas, takes a fresh approach to the Hispanic outreach challenge. Founded in 1992 as a collaboration of the Junior League of Austin, Inc., and the University of Texas at Austin, Con Mi MADRE uses the mother-daughter bond as leverage to foster a college-going tradition among families.

Smart Solutions
Anticipate some of your students' questions about default and offer answers with TG's Handling Default: Frequently Asked Questions.
News Briefs

Do you ever wonder about what college-bound students and their parents are thinking about this time of year, as they reach the point of having to make critical decisions about where they will attend college? What influences their decisions, and what motivates them to make their choices? In a blog entry by Eric Hoover for The Chronicle of Higher Education, we learn from recent surveys of these students that most of them have been highly influenced by the state of the economy, and a significant portion of them are "highly worried" that they won't be able to attend their choice institutions for lack of financial resources. Read more about these surveys and studies, and how students and their parents are coping with such topics as social media, their opinions of net-price calculators, and other relevant topics.