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

Summary of Activities

Code Number PP 6.174 - Request up-to-date information from each agency and prepare a report for the SASFAA Board. The liaison is responsible for maintaining a list of agency contacts and addresses and for passing the information to the liaison's successor.

Activity: Made initial e-mail request to state agency contacts on June 29; Sent reminder e-mail on July 26; Updated contact list by adding Ed Cunningham, new KHEAA Executive Director.

Code Number GAP80 - Continue use of NCHELP and NASSGAP reports to be included in committee reports and ask State Presidents for help in obtaining state agency reports for board meetings so that every state can be guaranteed to be represented.

Activity: Requested reports from NCHELP and NASSGAP; Copied State Presidents on e-mails to agency contacts

Discussion

The following reports were submitted:

Agency Liaison

While all program participants have been focusing on implementation of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is still an outstanding issue.

On June 30, President Bush signed H.R. 5603 which extended the Higher Education Act through September 30, 2006. The House of Representatives has already passed its version of reauthorization in the form of H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006. However, the Senate has not taken action on a reauthorization bill and is not expected to do so until September. Given the limited number of legislative days left on the calendar before mid-term elections, it is far from certain that the Senate will deal with reauthorization at all.

With all the attention on HERA, the provisions of H.R. 609 have not received a great deal of attention. However, there are several loan provisions in this bill that would affect program participants including:

Several other provisions would have a major effect on schools in particular, including:

The Common Manual, typically published each July, will instead be printed in September to accommodate new policies relating to HERA. Development is continuing on a Common Manual web site with the launch date is targeted for September-October.

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

No report submitted.

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

Included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 was a commitment by Congress to increase access to higher education. The College Access Initiative formalizes a traditional role of guaranty agencies in promoting access to higher education and requires that they make available to the public a comprehensive listing of the postsecondary education opportunities, programs, publications and services available in their designated states.

A work group of representatives from the nation's 36 guaranty agencies has been developing an implementation plan to fulfill these requirements. The group, chaired by Steven Brooks, Executive Director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, is working with organizations including the National College Access Network (NCAN), Pathways to College Network and NASFAA to develop guidelines and resources that can be used by agencies interested in expanding their outreach activities and reaching a broader number of students, families and organizations. These efforts also tie in with a broader NCHELP access effort to involve the entire membership in sharing information about best practices and working together with partners such as SASFAA.

As part of their public service mission, guaranty agencies provide an extensive range of services and programs to increase awareness of the importance of higher education, the opportunities available and the financial support offered. They make efforts to reach students and families at every stage of their education life-cycle - from programs designed for elementary school students to tools aimed at workers seeking new skills.

Two key areas where guaranty agencies contribute to raising awareness and increasing access to higher education are in the resources and training they provide, and the targeted services and funding they offer to underserved students.

Resources and Training to Increase Awareness
Guaranty agencies reach out to millions of students and families—through a wide variety of channels including brochures and newsletters, financial aid workshops and hotlines, comprehensive Web sites and resource centers—to inform them about how to prepare for college, plan for their career, pay for their postsecondary education and manage their finances. These free resources are used by schools, organizations and families throughout the country to boost awareness and early intervention efforts.

Several agencies have regional offices and staff that engage in outreach initiatives to schools and community agencies across the state. They work with elementary, middle and high school students, parents, teachers and counselors to promote early awareness of college opportunities, financial aid support and financial literacy. They participate in career fairs and FAFSA completion events and place special emphasis on working with schools that serve low-income families. One guaranty agency reported providing 2,800 low-income first-generation students with monthly counseling and presentations last year. Another agency conducted 75 college enrollment workshops, serving 140,000 students and 30,000 parents. Many agencies operate and fund college resource centers that provide students and families with hands-on assistance in navigating all of the hoops required to pursue a college education. To introduce students to what college life has to offer and inspire them to pursue their educational goals, several agencies host day-long workshops on a local college campus.

Targeting Services to Students Most in Need
The other major role that guaranty agencies play in early intervention and awareness is identifying what a community needs and providing support and services to underserved students. Because agencies are directly involved with their schools and communities, they can respond to the specific needs that emerge. They work with the state education board to identify schools with low college-going rates and target specialized services and scholarships to improve those rates. They create materials for Native American students and Spanish-speaking families and administer grants for students aging out of foster care.

Many agencies provide grants to the communities they serve to help organizations improve their college access efforts. These often occur at the grassroots level and can help to sustain programs that are successfully reaching underserved students, such as a grant by one agency to continue a Latino Student Initiative Project designed to improve college access for Latino students. Another agency offers a program for 5th and 6th grade from schools with a large number of low-income students. They spend one month learning about college culminating in a day on campus interacting with college professors and students. In 2005, the program reached 4000 students in four states.

College Access Initiative – Plans for Implementation
All of these activities form the foundation of the College Access Initiative, which was recommended by guaranty agencies as part of the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The Initiative entails two major requirements. One is that agencies undertake activities to promote access to postsecondary education for students through providing information on college planning, career planning and paying for college, and to coordinate with other entities committed to similar goals. The work group is developing resources and forums to help agencies expand their outreach activities and reach a broader number of students, families and organizations. Information on the technical assistance available in starting programs, an overview of the potential college access partners in the state and a listing of the Federal and non-Federal programs that are operating throughout the country that may be seeking partners and supporters is being developed.

The second requirement of the Initiative is that each guaranty agency provides a listing of all the college access and awareness resources available in its designated state. To help states compile and display a listing of these resources, the group has been working with Mapping Your Future, a comprehensive career and college planning Web site sponsored by guaranty agencies, to create a state college access Web page that each agency will develop. This will allow students and families to visit a central location to learn everything about available postsecondary opportunities in their state. We encourage SASFAA members who provide college outreach services and programs to contact their state's designated guaranty agency or NCHELP to ensure they are included in the state access Web page. We plan to launch the state access Web pages in September.

As the College Access Initiative moves forward, we hope to bring more research into practice and to replicate the best programs and services that currently exist so that more students can benefit.

Alabama

Alabama Commission on Higher Education

No report submitted.

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, designated guarantor for Alabama
Submitted by William H. Wall, Ph.D, Director, Alabama Student Loan Program

New Alabama College Loan Program Offered Across State
We are pleased with the response of colleges and universities across Alabama to the new Alabama College Loan Program that offers Alabama students and families zero origination and default fees and other special benefits. The ACLP is offered through an agreement between The Student Loan people and the Alabama Higher Education Loan Corporation.

Staff Welcomes Gary Montgomery to Customer Relations Staff
Gary Montgomery, who has been with our office for over three years, has joined our customer relations staff as Business Development Officer. Gary has nearly 20 years of experience in the student loan industry and previously worked in the Student Assistance Initiated Loan Servicing (SAILS) section of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

Service on SASFAA Committees
I am pleased to serve on the SASFAA By-Laws and Policy and Procedure Committees with Deborah Byrd and Dee Talley. We have worked together on several AASFAA committees over the years, and I look forward to working with both of them at the regional level this year.

Florida

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

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

OSFA Moves to TERP
OSFA became a participant in Total Enrollment Reporting Process (TERP) with the Clearinghouse on April 13, 2006.

Web Enhancements
On June 7, 2006, OSFA unveiled several new enhancements to the web services we provide our customers. The enhancements were:

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

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

Contribution to Need-based Aid
For fiscal year 2006-2007, OSFA will contribute nearly $8.5 million to the State of Florida’s need based grant programs. This represents OSFA’s investment in the future of Florida’s neediest students.

Georgia

Georgia Student Finance Commission
Submitted by Tim Connell, President

GAcollege411
GAcollege411.org – the State of Georgia website created to help students plan, apply, and pay for college – continues to attract thousands of users every month. Not quite 18 months after the site’s February 2005 launch, more than 180,000 individual My 411 accounts have been created, and there are approximately 250 extended site visits every day. We began phasing in online college applications several months ago, and today students can apply online to approximately 85 percent of accredited colleges in Georgia. (The rest will be available by the end of this summer.) Nearly 25,000 online applications have already been submitted. A new feature, to be operational in early 2007, will allow the electronic transfer of high school transcripts through the site. GAcollege411.org is fast becoming the primary resource for Georgians who are preparing for education beyond high school.

40th Anniversary
On June 30, staff and guests celebrated Georgia Student Finance Commission's (GSFC) first 40 years of service to Georgia's students, families, and schools. In FY 1966, GSFC (originally called the State Scholarship Commission) began it's operations. Since then, the agency has helped nearly 2 million Georgians pursue their higher education dreams. Some highlights:

Joining us for the June 30 celebration were financial aid directors and other colleagues from Georgia's financial aid and higher education communities, representing GSFC's many partners through the years who have contributed to and shared in the agency's many successes.

The Fred Factor
To ensure that GSFC continues to offer the best possible service to Georgia students and schools, we have begun an aggressive new campaign to create an enhanced corporate culture that is based on an unprecedented commitment to customer service, internal as well as external. Philosophically, the new initiative is modeled on the ideals set forth in The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn ‘s bestselling book that chronicles a unique mailman named Fred and his relentless efforts to anticipate and satisfy the needs of his customers. For Fred, going the extra mile is just the first step; that’s the kind of culture, the kind of customer service, that students and colleges can expect from GSFC during our next 40 years.

Kentucky
Submitted by Lori Powers, Director of Public Relations

New Executive Director Appointed
The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority/Student Loan People Board of Directors selected Mr. Edward J. Cunningham as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at a special meeting June 30. Mr. Cunningham is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in financial services management, asset financing, loan servicing, loan operations, and marketing. His emphasis will be on team building, leadership, and public relations while building lasting and supportive client, third-party, and coworker relations.

Mr. Cunningham brings a level of experience and management expertise that complements the dedicated and loyal staff already at KHEAA and The Student Loan People. Most recently he has been employed at AES-PHEAA, which is one of the nation’s largest administrators of grant, scholarship, and loan programs and a respected guarantor, lender, and servicer. During his tenure at AES-PHEAA, he held various positions including Senior Executive; First Vice President, Education Services Group; and Vice President, Loan Division. He also held positions with KMPG Peat Marwick Consulting as a Manager, Education Finance Services Group, and with the Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation as Executive Director. He is a retired Command Re-enlistment Sergeant Major for the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served as an instructor for interpersonal communications and human relations.

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

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

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

Loan Operations
KHEAA guarantee volume continues to increase. At the end of June 2006, KHEAA’s volume, including Consolidation Loans, increased by 13.7% to $1.37 billion compared to the previous fiscal year. When consolidations are excluded, the increase is 6.5%.

Graduate and professional students who wish to electronically apply for a Federal PLUS Loan may now do so through KHEAA's website www.kheaa.com. Since PLUS Loans require a credit check, students may obtain PLUS Loan preapproval by clicking on the Zip Decision logo. To electronically sign a Master Promissory Note for a Federal PLUS Loan, students may click on “eSign Your MPN.” Federal PLUS Loans for graduate and professional students cannot be guaranteed until July 1, 2006; however, schools may direct students to “Zip Decision” and “eSign Your MPN” to ensure the proper verification and documentation are in place to allow the PLUS Loan to be instantly guaranteed. For more information, contact KHEAA 800-617-2699.

Student Aid
KHEAA disbursed $178.2 million in state aid during FY 2006, an 8 percent increase over last year.

College Access Program (CAP) Grant maximum award amounts for the 2006-2007 academic year will increase from $1,700 to $1,900. The KTG maximum awards will increase from $2,800 to $2,900 based on new data KHEAA received regarding the full-time-equivalent calculation.

Two changes to the Early Childhood Development Scholarship (ECDS) regulations beginning with the 2006-07 academic year will:

Franklin Circuit Court Judge Roger Crittenden issued a ruling in the KAPT lawsuit on April 14. The ruling stated (1) the transfer of $13.7 million from the KAPT Program Fund to the state’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. KAPT purchasers were sent a letter from KAPT Board Chair Jim Jackson advising them of the ruling.

KAPT recently implemented a new ACH option for benefit payments to schools and account owners. For FY 2006, KAPT has disbursed $1.5 million in benefits on behalf of 325 students.

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.

Survey Shows Kentucky Doing Good Job with Student Aid
Kentucky received good marks in an annual survey of state-sponsored student financial aid programs. The survey, conducted each year by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP), covered the 2004–2005 academic year.

NASSGAP looked at need-based grants, merit-based KEES, and other state aid administered by KHEAA. Kentucky ranked:

The entire report is available at www.nassgap.org.

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
To promote creation of new GoHigherKY.org (GHK) accounts, monthly drawings are being held to give away an iPod shuffle to a student who set up a new account during the previous month. Over 30,000 new accounts have been created on GHK since it went live in June 2004.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has issued a contract and work has begun on the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) component of 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.

Staff is scheduling a third series of hands-on training workshops in computer labs across Kentucky to teach middle and high school counselors and GEAR UP and TRIO personnel about GoHigher modules.

Mississippi

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

USA Funds awards Mississippi residents $505,500 in scholarships
USA Funds® has announced the award of $505,500 in scholarships to help 340 low-to-moderate-income students in Mississippi pursue higher education.

USA Funds awarded $210,000 in scholarships to 140 first-time recipients of USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships® in Mississippi for the 2006-2007 academic year. In addition, USA Funds awarded $295,500 in renewal scholarships to 200 Mississippi students who previously had received awards under the program.

Awards to Mississippi students through the program total more than $2.2 million in the last five years alone.

Because USA Funds serves as Mississippi’s designated guarantor of federal education loans, Mississippi residents receive priority consideration for the awards.

To qualify for the scholarships, students must come from households with annual incomes of $35,000 or less. Full-time and half-time undergraduate students, as well as full-time graduate and professional students are eligible for $1,500 scholarships.

If a scholarship recipient maintains a grade-point average of at least 2.5, the scholarship may be renewed annually until the student receives a degree or certificate, or the total amount awarded reaches $6,000, whichever comes first.

A list of first-time USA Funds Access to Education Scholarship recipients for 2006-2007 is available at www.usafunds.org/planning/access_to_education_scholarship/index.html. Information about USA Funds’ 2007-2008 scholarship program will be posted beginning Oct. 2 on USA Funds’ Web site, www.usafunds.org.

North Carolina

North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
Submitted by Elizabeth McDuffie, Director, Grants, Training and Outreach

NC Legislative Action
The following items were included in the budget for the 2006-07 year:

Academic Competitiveness Grant
The Authority monitored NC’s request to recognize the University/College course of study rigorous and communicated it back to the aid community once the recognition happened. We also provided resources to help FAAs learn what they need to do for ACG.

National Presence Increasing
Executive Director, Steve Brooks, has been asked by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to be a panelist on September 19 at the hearing on simplifying federal EFC determinations. He may also serve as a consultant to the Committee as they move forward with radically simplifying the current determination of federal aid eligibility.

Steve is also serving on a College Board three-year think-tank project called "Rethinking Student Aid," chaired by Mike McPherson and Sandy Baum.

Involvement in these two new initiatives is in addition to his role as chair of the NCHELP task force on college access (implementing HERA) and the on-going CB Task Force on Access for Students from Low Income Backgrounds.

FAFSA Day
We currently have a commitment from 50 campuses to host FAFSA Day on February 17, 2007. Last year, over 400 volunteers worked with FAFSA Day serving 2,700 students at 42 locations.

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 was awarded to 11,940 students attending the 20 eligible SC independent colleges. The maximum award for 2005-2006 was $2,600 and the average award was approximately $2,400.

The 2006-2007 State Appropriations bill recently passed by the 2006 South Carolina General Assembly 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 state reductions was also included. The $3.7 million increase enabled the Grants Commission to increase the previously established 2006-2007 maximum grant of $2,800 by $300 to $3,100 at all 20 SC independent colleges. Notices of the $300 increase were recently sent to all eligible students.

The SCTG Commission implemented electronic award notifications last year in cooperation with the SC Student Loan Corporation. The experience has been very successful with faster notification to the students and dollar savings from postage and labor.

The 2007-2008 state budget request was recently approved by the SC Tuition Grants Commission for submission to the State Budget Division. Sufficient funds to increase the $3,100 maximum grant by the 2005 HEPI percentage (3.5% increase to $3,200) were requested by the commission.

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.

Tennessee

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
Submitted by Robert Ruble, Executive Director

Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program
Since the inception of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program, the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation has distributed over $230 million in academic scholarships and technical skills grants to help fund the postsecondary education of Tennessee students.

As the new academic year approaches, new education lottery scholarship legislation helps to expand the program. Of the significant changes, scholarships will be processed to fund the Tennessee HOPE Teacher's Loan Forgiveness program. Its purpose is to provide financial assistance to Tennessee tenured public school teachers seeking an advanced degree in math or science, or a certification to teach math or science in a Tennessee public school system.

Tennessee Student Assistance Award Program
The state’s need-based program received the first increase in over three years. With the increase the agency was able to award an additional 900 needy students in Tennessee.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to address shortages in the nursing profession. The new Professional Nursing Loan-Scholarship Program will be for Tennessee residents that are candidates for a master in nursing or students with a master’s degree in nursing who pursue a doctoral degree in nursing that would qualify the person to become a teacher, administrator or supervisor in nursing in Tennessee.

Loan Division
TSAC was ready on July 1, 2006 to process Graduate/Professional PLUS loans per the CommonLine compliant standards that required new fields with the loan type as “GB” and the form code as “G” through our eSignature and Internet-based loan processing system. TSAC is also be able to provide a solution for trading partners that are not ready to process Graduate/Professional PLUS loans per the CommonLine standards.

Compliance Division
TSAC’s New Aid Officer Training Workshop is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2006. Over 20 participants are registered to attend. Topics for the workshop include: Overview of 2007-2008 FAFSA, Verification Process, Student Eligibility, State Grants and Scholarships and Lottery Scholarship Updates. A new addition to the workshop is the inclusion of e*GRandS training as the last session of the day.

Meanwhile, the legal affairs staff has been focused on the development of TSAC rules implementing changes to various Tennessee laws regarding state financial aid programs made by the legislature this past spring.

Communication Services Division
The Communication Services Division has hit the ground running with new initiatives that will reach a wider audience with a message of college access, financial planning and preparing, and default prevention. Focus will be given to new audiences including traditionally under served populations, middle-school students, and non-traditional students. The creation of regional offices is underway in an effort to create a strong grassroots effort across the state for outreach initiatives. Once finalized, we’ll give you the details of their whereabouts and release updates as to the new endeavors the Outreach Specialists are taking on in your area.

We are also in the midst of updating all publications, promotional materials and our Web site to reflect the new legislative changes affecting financial aid in preparation for a very busy fall travel schedule. Additionally, the Communication Services Division has some new talent in the ranks. We have promoted from within to create a Director of Outreach while adding an Outreach Specialist for Web, Publications and Graphic Design and two new Telephone Counselors to our call center.

As you can see, it’s only the beginning of a very busy new school year for us -- with new initiatives, new employees and a revitalized image, TSAC hopes to improve current services and create new invigorating and innovative ways to serve our clients!

Virginia

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
Submitted by Lee Andes, Assistant Director for Financial Aid

Virginia’s financial aid programs received a substantial increase for FY07. Undergraduate need based awards increased by $10.9 million or 12.9 percent; graduate awards increased by $4.9 million, a 40 percent increase; and grants to private colleges by $4.4 million, 9.8 percent increase. Altogether, financial aid received over $20 million in annual increases. Virginia adopted a policy that will ease the ability for military family members to obtain the in-state tuition rate. This change will put Virginia in line with 45 other states in providing this benefit. Virginia adopted a policy whereby students who exceed 125% of degree requirements would be assessed a tuition surcharge on top of their in-state tuition rate. This additional charge would bring total charges to equivalent to full cost of education. Certain course exclusions are provided as well as an appeal policy. Beginning fall 2006, public institutions will submit institutional performance agreements that will address Access, Affordability, Academic Standards, Student Retention, six-year financial plans, etc.

Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC), designated guarantor for Virginia
Submitted by Mike Hawkes, Director, Policy & Communications

ECMC is embarking on development of a new financial literacy program. Paula Craw, formerly with Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Association of American Medical Colleges, has been hired as National Director, Financial Literacy Training. Jeff Southard, previously a Financial Literacy Specialist for NELA, has also joined ECMC as Financial Literacy Training Specialist.

ECMC’s “Opportunities” booklet, a guide to education after high school, has been redesigned for 2006-2007. Information that applies regardless of state of residence will be contained in a “national” booklet, with supplements for Virginia and Oregon containing state-specific information.

ECMC is pleased that its support has helped the Commonwealth College Access Network to be incorporated as a non-profit corporation. CCAN was incorporated on July 20, and the initial Board of Directors is meeting in Charlottesville on August 7-8 to plan CCAN’s initial activities. CCAN is an outgrowth of a partnership between ECMC, SCHEV and VASFAA, with ECMC providing the start-up funding for CCAN .