July 12, 2011 - Edition 612 TG
Shoptalk

Industry Update

ED provides gainful employment guidance regarding degree programs that include certificates
In a new electronic announcement, ED provides supplemental guidance regarding a student who is enrolled in a degree program in which the student may also receive a certificate during the program.

Current special allowance rates: quarter ending June 30, 2011
For the quarter ending June 30, 2011, the average rate for three-month commercial paper (financial) was 0.19 percent.

Closed school corner
ED announced one school closure for July.

TG Report

Upcoming TG webinar focuses on recent credit card legislation
The Credit CARD Act of 2009 provides more reliable financial protections for all consumers, especially young adults. To help you understand how these changes affect you and your students, TG will host a webinar that focuses on the new rules affecting credit cards, gift cards, and overdraft, ATM, and debit fees, among other things.

Get a read on your school's default aversion effort at TG's booth during the 2011 NASFAA Conference
If you're designing or enhancing a default aversion program for your campus, you'll find ready assistance at Booth #320 of this year's National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Conference, to be held July 17-20 in Boston.

TG sessions for next week's NASFAA conference focus on financial literacy and regulatory change
TG's workshops for this year's NASFAA Conference cover a range of industry-critical issues, including changes in the cohort default rate calculation, financial literacy training, issues in student persistence, and new regulatory developments.

Are you a new supervisor? Hone your leadership skills and strengthen your team at the same time
Doing more with less is the norm for many financial aid offices. Looked at more positively, fiscal austerity offers a great argument for developing leadership skills and team strengths.

Smart Solutions
On July 1, federal interest rates for Stafford, SLS, and PLUS loans were revised for the 2011-12 fiscal year. TG offers a chart showing interest rates by qualifying condition for each federal loan type. To access and print the chart, click the link in the upper right corner of the "Interest Rates" page on TG Online.

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News Briefs

Pell grants do the most good for those students who may be least likely to graduate, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study. Over a period of years, university researchers tracked a group of Pell grant recipients, documenting when these students graduated and how they adjusted their workload in response to receiving aid. Researchers categorized these students by "likelihood of persistence," placing each person into one of three levels of likelihood depending on various factors, including parents' education level, standardized-test scores, and parents' help applying for financial aid. They found that students who were classified as least likely to persist benefited most from their Pell award, graduating at a much higher rate than students in the other categories. Family support may have been a key factor for these students, according to researchers. "Least likely to persist" students turned more often to family for advice, which made for better decision-making with regard to taking classes and completing on time. Read the complete Chronicle of Higher Education article on the study. Note that some Chronicle content is available to subscribers only.