Agency Liaison Report
Submitted by Mike Hawkes, Director, Policy & Communications, Educational Credit Management Corporation

Implementation of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 has the attention of state agencies and guarantors.

The Academic Competitiveness Grant program requires student recipients to have completed a rigorous secondary school program. While there are four paths to having a secondary school program deemed rigorous, the U.S. Secretary of Education has recognized programs in four SASFAA states – Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia – as meeting the required standard. States had until June 1 to submit programs for recognition.

Guarantors have been making decisions on payment of the Federal default fee. For loans guaranteed on or after July 1, 2006 guarantors are required to pay a 1% Federal default fee into the agency’s Federal Reserve Fund. The law authorizes guarantors to deduct this fee from the borrower’s Stafford loan proceeds or to pay it “from other non-Federal sources.”

Some guarantors are paying the fee from their Operating Fund, and in some cases lenders are subsidizing the fee. Most guaranty agency reports that follow contain information describing how the designated guarantor for the state is handling this fee.

Guarantors have been meeting since February to discuss implementation of the College Access Initiative, a new section added to the Higher Education Act by the HERA amendments. This new section requires guarantors to promote college access, a role all guarantors had been filling on a voluntary basis. Guarantors are coordinating these activities through the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP), and will be working with Mapping Your Future to create state-specific college access web pages.

Guarantors have decided to delay publication of the Common Manual from the traditional July date until September. This will allow the manual to contain new policies relating to the HERA amendments. Development work is also underway on a Common Manual web site, and the launch date is targeted for September-October.

The entire agency community is keeping an eye on possible reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. While the House has passed a reauthorization bill (HR 609), the Senate is not likely to address reauthorization until September at the earliest. It is likely Congress will have to pass at least one short-term extension of the HEA given the looming June 30 expiration date.

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National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP)

No report submitted.

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National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (NCHELP)
Submitted by Brett E. Lief, President

A little more than 12 years have elapsed since President Clinton and the Congress, facing large budget deficits, took $4.8 billion from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and deeded the funds to the federal Treasury to reduce the federal deficit and attempt to restore confidence in the nation’s economy. Just a few months ago, President Bush and the Congress took almost $12 billion from the student loan programs, again dedicating the funds to reduction of the federal deficit. While Presidents and Congresses change, challenges to the FFELP seem to be a constant.

There’s another similarity to the student loan world of the early 1990s: a general uneasiness among financial aid professionals who find themselves in the crossfire between institutional missions; an abundance of federal and state regulations; parents and students (who first besiege them with requests for aid decisions and then question those decisions); and external disruptions. As one long-time friend and colleague recently mumbled, “just give me a few days without marketing calls.”

Yet, over the past 12 years, new student loan volume has increased from $12.5 billion to more than $50 billion. Three widely accepted reasons for this increase in loan volume are: the increasing demand for postsecondary education and training; an increase in costs for this education and training; and lagging federal and state grant and scholarship support.

There is much for the FFELP community and our school colleagues to be proud of: a default rate of 4.5% percent compared to 17.8% 12 years ago; and an era of simplification and standardization that has produced products and services such as CommonLine, Common Record, Mapping Your Future, Meteor, ELM, Common Manual and the National Student Clearinghouse.

Even with the dramatic growth of the past decade, the demand for student loans is sure to increase at an accelerated rate. Between 1996-97 and 2004-05, the number of students graduating each year from secondary school increased 14 percent from 2.6 million to more than three million students. The number of graduates is expected to increase an additional 10 percent over the next few years. As a result, postsecondary full-time enrollment is expected to increase by 16 percent over the next 10 years. Digging a bit deeper, these postsecondary students will be more ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged than the graduates that preceded them. For example, it is expected that between 2005 and 2013, the number of Hispanics graduating from secondary schools will increase by 41 percent.

These are staggering figures that -- when coupled with continued increases in educational costs, the expectation that grants and scholarships will be funded at insufficient levels, and other demands on families due to higher costs of living -- will result in an increased need for student loans.

There is little doubt that the higher education loan community will be able to meet this future borrowing demand and continue to provide superb services to borrowers and schools. In fact, there will be startling improvements. There will be an accelerated commitment to offer college outreach and financial literacy services and debt management counseling. For schools, there will be an equally strong commitment to provide services that take advantage of emerging technology to process loans in a more efficient and highly secure manner.

However, despite providing almost $1 billion in timely, virtually error-free loan funds each week, FFELP’s future seems never to be safe. The current political divisiveness in Washington unfortunately provides encouragement to those who would attempt to undermine the set of well coordinated federal student aid programs that benefit students and schools. I would like to make three observations on this topic.

First, the similarities to the situation 12 years ago should give the FFELP community pause. Without question, the federal deficit and attempts to rein it in will be a unifying objective for both parties – the differences between the parties will be in the order of magnitude. The purpose of budget reconciliation is to “grab” cash, and at that point logical thinking leaves the building. Twelve years ago there was a Democratic-controlled Congress and White House and this past year Republicans controlled the legislative and executive branches. This points out that the FFEL Program is at risk regardless of which party is in control.

One of FFELP's challenges is to overcome the current budget scoring methodology that unfairly favors Direct Lending. The higher education loan community continues to wage an extensive public information campaign about the factors that determine the costs of the FFEL and Direct Loan programs.

Second, a growing number of financial aid professionals are openly concerned about aggressive marketing, whether directed at them, their students (or the parents of their students), or senior college officials such as their President or Vice President of Finance. The marketing of both FFELP and non-Title IV loans and attempts to “lock up” school volume for lenders and guarantors is resulting in some erosion of support for the entire FFEL program. Financial aid officials have always had strong views about entities that come between them and their students.

The last of my observations is that FFELP is beginning to lose its common face. We’ve come a long way in making FFELP loans a seamless way to borrow for students and schools. However, as some loan marketing is being conducted outside of traditional channels, some of the benefits of commonality could be lost. As a result, some may view the FFELP as being more complicated then the Direct Loan Program.

In conclusion, back to the positives. The higher education loan community provides a superior set of affordable loan services to meet what will be a growing demand. Yet, it will be tested. The higher education loan community met the challenges of the past 12 years through hard work and a commitment to the students and schools it serves. FFELP providers will need to reinforce that hard work and commitment as we continue to work in challenging times.

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Alabama

Alabama Commission on Higher Education

No report submitted.

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, designated guarantor for Alabama
Submitted by Crystal Dempsey-Gillum, Information Officer

New Alabama College Loan Program
A special low-cost student loan program from the Alabama Higher Education Loan Corporation (AHELC) will help Alabama students pay for the cost of obtaining a college education. The program offers special benefits that can save students hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fees, interest, and loan cancellation.

Under an agreement with The Student Loan Peoplesm, which will administer the program for AHELC, students receiving Federal Stafford Loans through the Alabama College Loan Program will not pay an origination fee or a default fee. Parents and graduate students who receive Federal PLUS Loans through the program will not pay a default fee. The federal government requires lenders to charge the origination fee on PLUS Loans, but Alabama College Loan Program borrowers will receive an immediate 1 percent interest rate reduction.

Borrowers of Stafford and PLUS Loans from the Alabama College Loan Program will receive a 5 percent reduction to the original loan principal after making the first 30 monthly, on-time payments. Borrowers will also qualify for a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction for automatic payments.

Alabama Staff News
Jody Lewis has relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, to begin a new career and make arrangements for her wedding in early spring. Gary Montgomery has transferred to The Student Loan People’s Customer Relations division and will work with schools in Alabama.

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Florida

Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance, State Scholarship and Grant Programs
Submitted by Theresa Antworth, Director of Scholarship and Grant Programs

2005-06 Academic Year
State-funded financial aid programs expect to disburse 97% of the appropriation of $527 million for 20 programs during the 2005-06 academic year. Our largest merit program, Florida Bright Futures Scholarships, expects to fund over 139,000 students; the largest need-based program, Florida Student Assistance Grants (FSAG), expects to serve over 100,000 students.

2006-07 Legislative and Budget Issues
The 2006 Florida Legislative Session has ended and the Governor has signed the new year budget allocating $604 million to student financial aid programs. This represents a 14.6% increase in program funds over last year.

Several programs were enhanced to include additional benefits for students:

New programs include:

Web Applications at www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org
Our customer friendly web homepage invites students to apply online for all programs. We have accepted and evaluated over 90,000 initial applicants. Postsecondary institutions participating in financial aid programs continue to appreciate the web processing of state financial aid and comprehensive reporting capabilities.

Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance, Federal Family Education Loan Programs
Submitted by Kelly Harrison, Director, Training and Development

OSFA Moves to TERP
On April, 13, 2006, OSFA announced its participation and implementation of TERP (Total Enrollment Reporting Process) with the Clearinghouse.

Web Enhancements
On June 7, 2006, OSFA will unveil several new enhancements to the web services we provide our customers. These enhancements include:

Default Prevention News
The latest additions to our Default Prevention program are as follows:

Federal Default Fee
OSFA will charge the federally mandated 1% Default Fee on all loans guaranteed on or after July 1, 2006; however, there are several lenders in Florida that will pay the fee on behalf of the borrower if OSFA is used as the guarantor.

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Georgia

Georgia Student Finance Commission
Submitted by Tim Connell, President

GSFC military awards
This spring, Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) participated in special events focusing on two GSFC-administered aid programs that encourage and reward service in the military.

Georgia HERO Scholarship
On April 17, GSFC President Tim Connell joined Governor Sonny Perdue in recognizing the first recipients of the HERO (Helping Educate Reservists and their Offspring) Scholarship. HERO gives financial assistance for college to qualifying members of the Georgia National Guard and U.S. Military Reservists who have served in combat zones for specified lengths of time. Children of those individuals also are eligible. The award is up to $2,000 per academic year ($1,000 per term) for each 181 days served in a combat zone after May 5, 2005.

North Georgia College & State University Military Scholarship
On April 26, GSFC staff were among those who honored 35 high school seniors who have been awarded North Georgia College & State University Military Scholarships. This is the 26th year of the program, which to date has benefited more than 600 Georgia students. Recipients of this award receive full, four-year scholarship loans to North Georgia College & State University. The award covers tuition, room and board, books, fees, and uniforms. Each student who receives the award agrees to serve in the Georgia National Guard for four years, after graduation from North Georgia.

Final 2006 legislative wrap up
The following bills, passed by the Georgia General Assembly, have been signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue.

SB 415 expands the HERO Scholarship program for wounded soldiers. (See related item above.) SB 415 expands eligibility to Georgia National Guard members who were wounded and evacuated from a combat zone prior to 181 consecutive days of service.

The FY 2007 budget (HB 1027) for the Georgia Student Finance Commission dedicates agency funds to increase the Tuition Equalization Grant award amount for Georgia students enrolled in Georgia’s private colleges from $900 to $1,000 per student per year. The budget also appropriates funds for the HERO Scholarship, which awards $2,000 per academic year per student. In addition, the General Assembly committed $200,000 of the Commission’s agency funds toward service cancelable loans for students in nurse faculty programs.

Federal default fee
The Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation, GSFC’s guaranty agency, has begun charging the Federal default fee as required by law. GSFC’s lending agency, Georgia Student Finance Authority, will pay that fee as a benefit to our borrowers.

Tim Connell joins NCHELP Board
GSFC President Tim Connell recently accepted a position on the Board of Directors of NCHELP. He will serve on the Board for the next two years, and his first meeting as a Board member will be in July 2006.

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Kentucky

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
Submitted by Crystal Dempsey-Gillum, Information Officer

Introducing Jane Roig and Jim Ackinson
Jane L. Roig was selected by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA)/Student Loan People Board of Directors to serve as Interim Executive Director and Management Consultant while a permanent Executive Director is being sought. Her first day in the office was March 28. Jane previously served in several management capacities at KHEAA from 1981 to 2001, including Director of Program Administration and Director of Federal Relations and Loan Policy Services. In 2001, Jane retired from KHEAA and joined Southwest Student Services Corporation, Arizona, as Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations. In 2002, she was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and served in that capacity until earlier this year.

The Board Search Committee recently adopted a process to fill the Executive Director position and placed advertisements in national publications to solicit resumes. The Search Committee hopes to fill the position by July.

The Board of Directors also selected Jim Ackinson as Financial Consultant. He served 20 years as Chief Financial Officer of the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) until he retired earlier this year. His first day in the office was March 20.
Jim has extensive on-the-job experience with tax-exempt and taxable bond issuance and management; bond resolution fund management; federal tax code knowledge and compliance; short- and long-term financial planning; operating budget development and management; procurement of bond underwriting, bond counsel, auditing, trustee, and outside quantitative services; and other financial duties common to both KHC and The Student Loan People.

Loan Operations
The USDE Guarantee Agency Ranking Report, published in March 2006, lists KHEAA as 10th out of 35 for its debt recovery rate, which is up from 17 as of January 2006! The debt recovery rate is measured by dividing the amount of collections by the beginning inventory of defaulted loans.

USDE has designated The Student Loan Peoplesm as an Exceptional Performer for its compliance in servicing Federal Family Education Loans. To qualify for this distinction, USDE requires lenders and servicers to comply with servicing requirements set by USDE at a rate of 97 percent or higher. As an Exceptional Performer, The Student Loan People will have its student loans insured at the highest level by USDE beginning June 1, resulting in savings that can be used to provide additional services to help students and families plan and pay for higher education. For many years, The Student Loan People has converted student loan revenues into state student financial aid awards, free college planning and financial aid publications, and innovative borrower benefit programs.

KHEAA began making Zip Access Loan Processing services available to groups of schools on May 8. Zip Access Loan Processing will help schools manage the loan process with:

KHEAA and KHESLC chose Priority Technologies, Inc., (PTI), a leader in student loan technology solutions, to develop the customized, comprehensive software product which will provide schools with the ability to manage all portions of the student loan process. PTI’s products are in use by over 500 schools nationwide and are widely praised by those schools.

Borrower Benefits
For new Stafford Loans disbursed after June 30, 2006, The Student Loan People^SM will pay the 1% default fee on behalf of its borrowers.

For new PLUS Loans disbursed after June 30, 2006, The Student Loan People^SM will:

The maximum principal cancellation benefit in all Student Loan Peoplesm specialty programs (Best in Class, Best in Care, and Best in Law) will be limited to $10,000 annually.

Student Aid
KHEAA disbursed $175.3 million in state student aid through the third quarter of FY 2006 and is on track to disburse a total of $180 million for the fiscal year.

A Circuit Court judge made a ruling in the Kentucky’s Affordable Prepaid Tuition (KAPT) lawsuit on April 14. The ruling stated (1) the transfer of $13.7 million from the KAPT Program Fund to the Kentucky’s General Fund required by the 2005 state budget bill was unconstitutional and (2) the repeal of KRS 393.015, which provided the backing of the Unclaimed Property Fund for KAPT tuition contract obligations, could not apply to current KAPT contract holders, and the Commonwealth must fulfill the tuition payment obligation of all current KAPT contract holders.

The Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust (KESPT) launched the KESPT Futuretrust® cash rebate program on April 17. KESPT account owners may now:

When rebates total $25, the money will be automatically swept into an investment in the KESPT account.

Electronic Award Notice and Payment Planner
KHEAA and The Student Loan People contracted with Overture Technology to produce an electronic award notice and payment planner for use by schools. These services are being provided to schools at no cost and are available for the 2006-2007 award year.

GoHigherKY

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has issued a contract and work has begun on the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) component of GoHigherKY.org (GHK). KDE anticipates an August 2006 go-live date. All students in Kentucky will be required to set up a GHK account in middle school beginning next year.

Xap Corporation, which designed and operates GHK, is working with a third party to set up the electronic transcript process with school districts and STI, a company that manages Kentucky’s K-12 school data software, to develop a process to load and transmit data to colleges. Staff hopes to have some pilot schools using the process by this fall.

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Mississippi

USA Funds, designated guarantor for Mississippi
Submitted by Louanne Langston, Account Executive, USA Funds Services
Vicky Keller, Customer-relations Manager, USA Funds

Report explores benefits of enhancing education access in Mississippi
A new report underwritten by USA Funds? indicates that, by enhancing access to higher education, Mississippi could reduce social-welfare costs and improve its economy and overall quality of life for those living in the state. Mississippi’s Mandate: Why the Investment in Education Pays off in Mississippi also outlines several recommendations for improving higher-education access. The Institute for Higher Education Policy prepared the report, working closely with the Mississippi Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning. The report is available for downloading from the USA Funds Web site, www.usafunds.org.

Disaster-relief fund assists additional Mississippi schools
Three Mississippi postsecondary schools are among the 20 additional schools named as recipients of grants funded by USA Funds to help low-income students whose studies were disrupted by major hurricanes during 2005. USA Funds is providing $2.3 million in support of the grant program, the Disaster Relief Fund for Postsecondary Education Students. Antonelli College, Coahoma Community College and Day Spa Career College join six schools previously selected as recipients of grants from the fund.

USA Funds Scholars to receive scholarships
USA Funds will award $28,500 in postsecondary-school scholarships to 19 graduating seniors at Mississippi high schools. Administrators of the students’ schools nominated them to be USA Funds Scholars based on academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities or community service, exemplary character, and financial need. To view a list of recipients and their schools, visit www.usafunds.org/about_usa_funds/news_archive/2006_news_releases/usafunds_scholars_recipients/index.htm on the USA Funds Web site.

Two Mississippi elementary schools receive funds for supplies
Two Mississippi elementary schools affected by Hurricane Katrina each received $1,222, raised by USA Funds and its employees, to be used toward school supplies. Sacred Heart Elementary in D’Iberville and Poplarville Lower Elementary were among three schools in two states for which USA Funds raised a total of $3,366 for supplies.

USA Funds announces plans for Federal Default Fee
USA Funds currently offers a zero guarantee fee on Federal Stafford and PLUS loans that it guarantees. Pursuant to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which President Bush signed into law, USA Funds will collect a 1-percent Federal Default Fee on all Federal Stafford and PLUS loans that USA Funds guarantees beginning July 1, 2006. Lenders may opt to pay the fee on the borrower’s behalf. For lenders that subsidize the Federal Default Fee on all Stafford loans guaranteed by USA Funds, USA Funds will pay the Federal Default Fee on behalf of that lender’s PLUS-loan borrowers on USA Funds-guaranteed loans from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.

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North Carolina

North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority

No report submitted.

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South Carolina

South Carolina Tuition Grants Commission
Submitted by Edward M. Shannon, Executive Director

The SC Tuition Grants Program was enacted in 1970 by the SC General Assembly as a “need-based” program for South Carolina residents attending in-state, independent colleges on a full-time basis. In the current 2005-2006 school year, approximately $29.6 million will be awarded to 11,940 students attending the 20 eligible SC independent colleges. The maximum award for 2005-2006 is $2,600 and the average award is approximately $2,400.

The 2006-2007 budget process began on a very positive note with Governor Mark Sanford recommending in January, 2006, that SC Tuition Grant Lottery funds be increased from $4 million to $10.1 million, a $6.1 million increase.

The momentum of Governor Sanford’s budget recommendation carried forward into the House Ways and Means Committee. While reducing the Governor’s recommendation by $2.4 million, the 2006-2007 State Appropriations bill was recently passed by the South Carolina General Assembly and included a $3.7 million increase in Lottery funds to the SC Tuition Grants Program. A proviso exempting the SC Tuition Grants Program from mid-year reductions was also added to permanent provisos. The $3.7 million increase will enable the Grants Commission to increase maximum grants to $3,150 at all colleges. The budget must still go to a House/Senate Conference Committee, but since the SC Tuition Grants increase is in both the House and the Senate budgets, the likelihood that the increase will remain and ultimately be signed by Governor Sanford is good.

The state of North Carolina recently began a new state lottery and it is expected that the South Carolina lottery revenue will decrease from the impact of the NC lottery. The SC Tuition Grants Program currently receives $4 million annually from lottery proceeds. The $3.7 million increase approved by the House is all in lottery funds.

South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, designated guarantor for South Carolina
Submitted by David Roupe, Vice President of Guaranty Services

Loan Volume
SCSLC’s loan volume continues to grow at a healthy rate with a FFELP application rate increase of 3.88% over this time last year. Meanwhile, the fastest growing segment of our portfolio is our private loan program. Applications are up 57.66% from last year’s record volume.

Customer Service
Our customer service division is second to none! Even while processing record number of applications and answering consolidation questions, we were able to maintain a hold time of less than 2 minutes!

Financial Aid Outreach
It has been a busy Spring! Our outreach counselors visited over 67 high schools made 12 presentations to Teacher Cadet high school students and conducted 21 Financial Aid Nights for high schools. In addition to the normal entrance and exit counseling services provided to our colleges, we also conducted several Money Management seminars and Consolidation Counseling sessions at several colleges, and participated in South Carolina Jump$tart’s conference on financial literacy that was attended by over 120 school teachers. Finally, the Kuder Career Assessment program has continued to be widely used. During this past year, over 36,000 students have used the system to help guide their career and higher education decisions.

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Tennessee

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
Submitted by Robert Ruble, Executive Director

TSAC Road Show
During the month of May, training workshops were taken on the road across the state. Six workshops were held beginning in East Tennessee on May 16 and ending May 25 in Nashville. Six Tennessee institutions graciously agreed to serve as our host and they were: Walter State Community College in Morristown, Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Southwest State Community College in Memphis, Union University in Jackson and Nashville State Community College in Nashville. Workshop topics included HERA, loans, lottery, state grants and other scholarship updates along with product and service information provided by TSAC’s servicer, GuaranTec.

Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program
The Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship was successful in awarding scholarships to over 40,000 students at a value of $93.4 million in 2004-2005. In the second year of the program, the menu of awards was expanded to include HOPE Foster Care Grants and Dual Enrollment Grants. As we approach the end of another successful year; 54,446 students have been awarded $133.5 million.

The Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program expects to see legislative additions to the program; including raising the HOPE scholarship award amount for the 2006-2007 year and creating a new advanced degree scholarship award for math and science teachers.

Tennessee Student Assistance Award Program
Tennessee’s need-based grant program, which has faced budget shortfall in previous years, is receiving much needed attention from the Tennessee legislature. There is a $ 2.1 million request for increase in the budget for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. This increase will help reduce the growing number of students that are eligible for the program but not receiving the award due to funding shortfall.

Loan Division
TSAC has nearly completed programming efforts toward implementing its Federal Default Fee requirements. In March, TSAC's board voted to charge this fee directly to borrowers. Fortunately for TSAC, the majority of our lenders have graciously volunteered to pay this fee on behalf of Tennessee borrowers; saving borrowers thousands of dollars.

Compliance Division
TSAC is continuing its partnership with the Tennessee Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (TASFAA) to provide an opportunity for high school counselors to participate in the High School Counselor Internship Program. This program, offered during the summer, provides a training workshop for the counselors prior to their participation in an internship at local institutions in their areas. This NASFAA award-winning program continues to be well received by everyone involved.

Communication Services Division
TSAC has seen a wealth of organizational growth and change in the last several months, much of which was through the creation of the Communication Services Division. In continued support of our goal to provide greater assistance to our constituents, the Outreach Specialists and Call Center Counselors will be joined by a Web, Publications and Graphic Arts Specialist in the coming month. Additionally, continued efforts are being made to streamline the information process with regard to call center activities, including but not limited to; the creation of specific ‘Parent and Student’ Hotlines and unique 'Administrators Only' lines, removal of the automated attendant, financial aid cross-training activities, and customer service trainings. Efforts are continually being made to meet our marketing and outreach responsibilities through strategic planning, analysis of existing programs, and on-going partnering and collaboration efforts on the local, regional, state and national levels.

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Virginia

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

No report submitted.

Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC), designated guarantor for Virginia

In March and April ECMC provided Higher Education Reconciliation Act training for over 250 financial aid professionals in seven workshops in Virginia, North Carolina and Oregon. The training covered the entire range of changes from need analysis, Academic Competitiveness Grants to loan program issues.

ECMC has committed to paying the Federal default fee for the 2006-2007 academic year rather than deducting this fee from borrowers’ proceeds. This policy applies regardless of the lender the borrower selects.

The ECMC Foundation is developing a guide for postsecondary student services and financial aid professionals to use as a resource to retain students from first generation college-going, low income backgrounds. This guide will be in the form of a toolkit containing both reference materials and strategies to encourage and support the success of these students to complete their courses of study and receive higher education degrees. We anticipate this project to be ready sometime in the fall of 2006 and it will be available for download free of charge

The Commonwealth College Access Network, an organization to support and nurture college access providers in Virginia, will soon be incorporated as a non-profit corporation. This is an outgrowth of a partnership between ECMC, SCHEV and VASFAA. ECMC has provided $75,000 to CCAN for start-up expenses, and has committed an additional $75,000 in support for 2006-2007.