Distance education is a hot topic in the higher education and financial aid industries. And now that the federal government has given qualifying schools that deliver most or all of their programs via distance education the green light to participate in the federal student aid programs, the topic can only get hotter.

To help schools understand the upcoming changes to the federal student aid rules and how the changes may open up federal student aid access to thousands of higher education students, TG will present a telephone conference entitled A Conversation about Distance Education. This will be the first in TG's 2006 Teleconference series.

During the telephone conference, Sam Wilson, TG assistant vice president of customer assistance, and Kelly Kaelin, TG senior policy advisor, will:

• Discuss a recent report from the Sloan Foundation and other data regarding the growth of distance education.
• Give a synopsis of the change to the 50 percent rules in the Higher Education Act that became effective with the recent passage of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act (S. 1932). This change will now open up federal student aid (Title IV) eligibility to many schools that provide their programs mostly or entirely through telecommunications.
• Provide a brief overview of how newly eligible postsecondary schools may apply to participate in the federal student aid (Title IV) programs.

A brief question-and-answer session will follow the telephone conference. Questions may be submitted in advance of the event to viola.perez@tgslc.org.

Date:
Thursday, March 9, 2006

Time:
2 p.m. - 3 p.m. (CST)

How to participate:
Pre-registration is not required. To participate in the event, this is what you will need to do:

1. On the day of the event, and up to ten minutes before the call begins, call AT&T Teleconferencing at (888) 423-3269.
2. An AT&T Teleconferencing operator will answer your call.
3. Indicate that you wish to join the teleconference using any of the following:
   1. confirmation number 820745
   2. the TG Teleconference, or
   3. the "Conversation on Distance Education" teleconference.
4. The operator will ask you for your name, institution, and telephone number, and then connect you to the call.

About the presenters:
Sam Wilson, TG assistant vice president of customer assistance, has worked in student financial assistance for over 16 years, with experience in student loan servicing, student loan policy development, and customer support for students, schools, and financial partners. For the past eight years, he has managed TG's Customer Assistance Contact Center, as well as the State of Texas Financial Aid Information Call Center.

Kelly Kaelin, TG senior policy advisor, has 10 years of experience in the financial aid industry. Kelly started her career as a financial aid officer at the University of Texas at Austin in 1995. In 2000, Kelly came to TG as a member of the policy and regulatory affairs team. Soon after joining TG, Kelly became the Editing Chair of the Common Manual, the unified FFELP policy guide maintained by all of the nation's guarantors. Among her job duties at TG, Kelly contributes to TG's weekly electronic newsletter Shoptalk Online, completes policy inquiries and analysis, and provides industry training on a wide variety of policy and regulatory issues.

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