TG Update
By Cynthia Mayberry, TG

As your office prepares for the fall semester, we would like to share with you TG’s latest developments and enhancements to our products and services. Please share this information with your colleagues and contact us if you need any assistance.

TG Users Group introduces new "FAM-ily"
The TG Users Group (TUG) has established a new subcommittee for financial aid management system (FAMs) users. The subcommittee is called the TUG "FAM-ily" and will provide a forum for TG's school customers to share experiences, lessons learned, and best practices for using FAMs.

The TUG subcommittee is composed of individuals from school financial aid offices where FAMs are used. These individuals are committed to sharing their FAMs user, implementation, and troubleshooting experience. The TUG FAM-ily will serve as the point of contact for technical support to financial aid offices as they choose, implement, and incorporate FAMs with TG's products and services.

TG's customer services testing and certification team (CSTC) will serve as a coordination point of the subcommittee. CSTC will connect schools with knowledgeable individuals who can assist them with their FAMs issues. TG’s involvement will also assist in building TG’s FAMs knowledgebase.

TG senior technical support analyst Suzy Epley serves as the TG-TUG FAMs Subcommittee liaison.

Subcommittee members
Subcommittee members have agreed to be available approximately eight hours each month to answer questions related to their FAMs via the telephone, TUG listserv, or Ask TG™, TG's question and answer database, available at http://tgslc.custhelp.com. Members also will be available for one visit to another school each quarter.

Subcommittee members, along with their area of expertise, are:

• SCT Banner™ – Ron Williams, Assistant Director of Financial Aid, University of Texas at El Paso, (915) 747-5204, rwilliams@UTEP.edu
  
  
• SCT Plus™ – James Anderson, Associate Director of Systems, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-0454, ext. 230, james.anderson@ttu.edu
  
  
• Datatel Colleague® – Jackie Adler, Financial Aid Director, Texas State Technical College - Waco, (254) 799-3611, Jackie.Adler@tstc.edu
  
  
• Oracle®/Peoplesoft® – Scott Moore, Dean, Scholarships and Financial Aid, University of St. Thomas, (713) 525-2151, moores@stthom.edu
  
  
• College Board PowerFAIDS® – Kathy Booker, Associate Director for Systems, Rice University, (713) 348-4148, krbooker@rice.edu
  
  
• POISE® – Devon Wiggins, Financial Aid Director, Tyler Junior College, (903) 510-2385, dwig@tjc.edu

To contact the subcommittee with a FAMs-related question from your school, send an e-mail message to Suzy at FAMily@tgslc.org to have your support requests forwarded to the respective subcommittee member. In addition, TG has created a mailing list of nearly 100 individuals who expressed interest in the subcommittee at the 2005 TG Conference. If you would like to be added to this list, contact Suzy at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4942, or send an e-mail message to suzy.epley@tgslc.org.

You can also visit the TUG FAMs Subcommittee Web page on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/tug/tug_fams.cfm.

2005 TG Conference presentations available
TG has added selected presentations from the training sessions of the 2005 TG Conference, Breakthrough! Higher Expectations in Higher Education, to its catalog of training resources available on TG Online at www.tgslc.org.

For our customers who were unable to attend the conference, or for those who missed some of the sessions, you now can gain the valuable information provided at the conference by viewing the Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations. The presentations also can be used for internal training programs on various industry- and TG-related topics.

The following is a list of presentations now available on TG Online:

• A Tool for Evaluating Diversity-Related Programs
• AdvanTG Web™ Advanced
• AdvanTG Web™ for Beginners
• Alternative Management for Alternative Loans
• Breaking Through the Cost Myths of Funds Delivery
• Consolidation Loans in Default Aversion
• Financial Literacy: Training and Consumer Awareness
• Gizmos & Gadgets: An Overview of TG's Solutions and Tools
• IDA™, Your Integrated Default Assistant
• Implementing a Statewide Outreach Program
• New to FFELP
• Privacy Update
• Real Time Access
• TG PLUS Credit Connection™
• TG Process Flows: How to Accommodate Them
• To Eat on Thursdays: A Theatrical Production Using TG’s Research Reports
• Understanding Change Transactions

Other conference presentation topics are available through the TG Speakers Bureau or through TG's new financial literacy program, POSITIVE+BALANCE™.

TG updates Consolidation Station with information about "in-school" consolidation
ED has provided guidance that allows students to enter repayment on their Stafford loans while still in school in order to obtain a Consolidation loan. In accordance with that guidance, TG has updated Consolidation Station, TG's practical Web resource for borrowers who are contemplating consolidation.

TG updated Consolidation Station pages to include an "in-school" consolidation option. Updated sections include the following:

• An overview of the Federal Consolidation Loan Program
• Things you should know before you consolidate
• Frequently asked questions about student loan consolidation

To access Consolidation Station, visit the Web page on TG Online at www.tgslc.org/borrowers/consol.cfm.

TG implements Code of Business Conduct, Ethics Hotline
TG recognizes the importance of conducting business in an ethical manner. Too often, unethical behavior has caused corporate scandals that have made news headlines and cost their employees and shareholders billions of dollars. Such unfortunate events also have destroyed positive reputations that have taken companies years to build.

As a result of several recent scandals, public outrage demanded that companies be held to higher standards of accountability. Congress responded by enacting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which forces businesses to be more transparent in their financial accounting and reporting practices. In an effort to foster long-term protection for an organization from such scandals, many companies have gone beyond these basic requirements by implementing ethics policies and codes of conduct.

While Sarbanes-Oxley does not apply directly to TG as a nonprofit organization, TG has always been committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct in all of its business activities. To further this commitment, TG has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and implemented an Ethics Hotline, both of which became effective on June 1.

Issues addressed by TG's Code of Business Conduct
TG's Code sets forth the actions and behaviors that TG expects of its team members. The standards and principles included in TG's Code of Business Conduct address two main areas — compliance and ethical conduct. Compliance means following applicable laws, regulations, and TG policies that govern our business conduct. Ethical conduct means that all TG's business interactions are to be conducted with respect, honesty, trust, and integrity.

"The image and reputation of every organization are determined by the example set by its people," said Neal Combs, TG general counsel and chief ethics officer. "We are proud of TG's image and are confident that we will maintain high standards in all that we do. This Code of Business Conduct is intended to ensure that all of our customers can expect their business with TG to be conducted with the highest standard of integrity."

Reporting unethical activities
TG's Ethics Hotline, (877) TG-COMPLY (842-6675), serves as an anonymous method for customers and business partners to report any unethical or illegal behavior engaged in by TG team members.

Texas Legislature reaffirms TG's mission, benefit to higher education
Because TG is an entity created by the state of Texas, it is subject to the Texas Sunset Act. The Sunset Act generally requires that each agency or entity established under state law be reviewed every 12 years by the Sunset Advisory Commission and be "reauthorized" by the state legislature.

The Texas Legislature extended TG's charter of operations for another 12 years, the maximum renewable term.

The Sunset Review Process
TG's Sunset Bill, H.B. 2274, formalizes the recommendation of the Sunset Advisory Commission, which conducted a thorough evaluation of TG's mission and operations over the past two years.

The Sunset Review not only examines fiscal accountability, but also the organization's mission and vision. In its official report, the Sunset Review staff stated the following:

• TG functions effectively in its role as FFELP administrator.
• TG's customers — borrowers, schools, and lenders — give TG high marks in customer service.
• TG has consistently met or exceeded ED's performance goals for administering the FFELP.
• TG's progressive use of technology has made the financial aid process more efficient for FFELP participants.
• TG has kept its default rate low while its loan portfolio has grown significantly.

"We are pleased that the Governor's office, the Legislature, and the Sunset Commission have affirmed the value of TG's work in helping students realize their educational and career dreams," said Sue McMillin, TG president and CEO. "Since our founding in 1979, TG has been committed to simplifying the financial aid process for schools, lenders, and the students we all serve. We've come to be known for the quality of services and resources we provide, and we're proud to have the commendation of those who founded our organization, who feel that we're not only fiscally and operationally sound, but that we're staying true to our original mission."

More information
To learn more about TUG, IDA, POSITIVE+BALANCE, TG Speakers Bureau, Consolidation Station, TG’s Code of Business Ethics, or any of TG’s other products and services, please contact your TG school or lender consultant. You may also contact TG product support at (800) 332-1455, or by e-mail at product.support@tgslc.org.

Cynthia Mayberry is TG’s assistant manager for customer services. She can be reached at (800) 252-9743, ext. 4683, or by e-mail at cynthia.mayberry@tgslc.org.