Federal Updates

ED issues hurricane guidance
ED released an Electronic Announcement (E-ANN) about its Web site that provides guidance and contact information for students, schools, and others in the higher education community impacted by Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna.

Two additional public hearings scheduled
ED has added two hearing dates and locations to its already-announced schedule of public hearings in preparation for conducting negotiated rulemaking (Neg Reg) beginning in February 2009. The Neg Reg sessions will focus on changes brought about by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), the recently-enacted Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill.

Reauthorization: Potpourri
Shoptalk Online reviews a "potpourri" of HEOA provisions: odds and ends that are neither FFELP-specific nor grant-specific. These provisions apply to institutional eligibility issues, need analysis, and other Title IV (or non-Title IV, as in the case of Title X) programs.

TG Updates

TG releases new edition of State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas
TG's publication offers Texas policymakers, their staff, and members of the student financial aid community an overview of key facts that describe student financial aid in Texas.

Financial literacy focus: Educate your students about credit reports with Adventures In Education
Students learning to manage their finances may not understand the importance of credit reports, even as they apply for credit cards and various kinds of loans. TG’s Adventures In Education (AIE™) Web site provides a "tutorial" on the purpose and content of a credit report, which your students will find informative and easy-to-understand.

Updated Adventures In Education brochure available in Spanish and English
TG's Adventures In Education (AIE™) offers an assortment of information and interactive features to help students and parents plan and pay for college. Recently, TG updated its brochure on the Web site, which you can offer to new and continuing students.

Trends and Issues

Question of the week
A school can provide Title IV aid to an otherwise eligible student who is enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program. Can a school provide Title IV aid to a student in another type of certification program in the field of education?

This, That, and the Other...

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published its annual, comprehensive reference, or Almanac, on U.S. colleges and universities. The Almanac includes a section on the "Attitudes and Characteristics of Freshmen at 4-Year Colleges, Fall 2006." Curious about the "highest academic degree planned" for this cohort of freshmen? About 42 percent have focused their sights on getting a master's degree.

Here are a few other facts gleaned from the report. Business is the most popular major, followed closely by professional fields — law and medicine — and the arts and humanities. Most students say their primary motivation in going to college is to learn more about things that interest them. Getting a good job is the second most cited reason. And a visit to the campus figures in the top four reasons why students chose a particular university, after the school's academic reputation, the opportunity it offers for getting a good job, and its size.

You can find out more about attitudes for incoming freshmen at http://chronicle.com/weekly/almanac/2007/nation/0101801.htm. The source for this particular section of the Almanac is a study published by University of California at Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute titled The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2006.

Note that The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a paid subscription to review some content.