GSFC 411 e-newsletter [Aug. 2010]

Message from GSFC President, Tim Connell
As the summer comes to a close, I wanted to provide you a brief update about Georgia Student Finance Commission and our operations. The summer has been a very busy one for GSFC.
Joint House and Senate Higher Education Meeting
In anticipation of changes to the lottery funded programs, the House and Senate Higher Education Committees convened a joint meeting on August 2, 2010. At that meeting, David Lee and I provided an overview of lottery revenues and expenditures and the HOPE Program to members of the House and Senate Higher Education Committee. As you may have seen in the news over the last several weeks, there are mounting concerns over whether or not lottery revenues can continue to cover the cost of the HOPE and Pre-K Programs in the future. A copy of our presentation to the committee is posted at http://www.gsfc.org/gsfcnew/news.CFM .
GSFC Board Meeting
On August 6th, GSFC held the first board meeting for FY 2011. At the meeting we discussed the Budget and Financial Highlights for FY 2011 and FY 2012, Direct Loan Servicing, the 2010-2011 Program Regulations, including the College Opportunity Grant, and Private Loans. The next scheduled board meeting will be on November 5, 2010.
Tim

AUGUST 2010 ARTICLES
Message From GSFC President, Tim Connell
Final HOPE GPA Results Increasing numbers of students gain valuable financial literacy skills through Mapping Your Future
GSFC411 ARCHIVE
May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 More
RELATED LINKS
GAcollege411 Partner Update Compliance Corner Archive
Board of Regents
Technical College System of Georgia Mapping Your Future Department of Education Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Georgia Student Finance Commission 2082 East Exchange Place Tucker, Georgia 30084 (770) 724-9000 or 1-800-505-GSFC (4732) FAX (770) 724-9089
GAcollege411.org - www.gsfc.org

Final HOPE GPA Results
The high school Transcript Exchange process for 2010 Final HOPE GPA calculation was completed July 30, 2010. The high schools did a great job handling this year's processing and are to be commended for their efforts. We achieved better results than in 2009 and completed the process ahead of last year's schedule.
This year we had 718 high schools statewide that uploaded 98,901 transcripts. During 2010 processing, 98,335 graduating seniors had their GPAs calculated and their high schools verified GPA results on 98,227 students. There were 39,585 HOPE eligible seniors this year of which 39,567 were verified. Therefore, 99.95% of the eligible seniors were verified by their high schools.
To assist new school personnel (and school personnel that need a refresher on the process), GSFC will be holding training on the upload and calculation process at the end of October or early November. In the near future, we will announce more information on this training.
We encourage all high schools to resume use of the HOPE Progress Report for ninth through eleventh grade students. This is an excellent avenue to communicate each student's progress toward HOPE eligibility throughout high school.
As always, if you need any support or have any questions about the Transcript Exchange or HOPE GPA process, please contact our GSFC Transcript Exchange support staff.

AUGUST 2010 ARTICLES
Message From GSFC President, Tim Connell
Final HOPE GPA Results Increasing numbers of students gain valuable financial literacy skills through Mapping Your Future
GSFC411 ARCHIVE
May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 More
RELATED LINKS
GAcollege411 Partner Update Compliance Corner Archive
Board of Regents
Technical College System of Georgia Mapping Your Future Department of Education Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Georgia Student Finance Commission 2082 East Exchange Place Tucker, Georgia 30084 (770) 724-9000 or 1-800-505-GSFC (4732) FAX (770) 724-9089
GAcollege411.org - www.gsfc.org

Increasing numbers of students gain valuable financial literacy skills through Mapping Your Future
More students than ever before are obtaining valuable money management skills - evidenced by the increasing numbers of students completing Mapping Your Future's financial literacy counseling.
Mapping Your Future debuted the online financial literacy counseling earlier this year, but as the start of school nears for many colleges and universities, the number of students completing the session has dramatically increased. As of early August, nearly 4,000 students completed the financial literacy counseling, the majority of which were in the last month.
"This dramatic increase in the use of financial literacy counseling is evidence of the value that schools place on making sure students have good financial literacy skills before they come to campus," said Cathy Mueller, executive director of Mapping Your Future. "Students are learning important information, skills and techniques on how to handle their finances at a time when they are making many financial decisions that could impact their future."
Mapping Your Future offers this free, online financial literacy counseling to provide college students with the knowledge and skills needed to manage their personal finances. Students can learn the difference between gross and net income, how to balance a checkbook, and the steps to financial responsibility to name just some of the topics covered in the financial literacy counseling. The interactive nature of Mapping Your Future's counseling helps students learn important money management techniques necessary for achieving financial success.
While many postsecondary schools would like to offer financial literacy education to students, school leaders are asking the financial aid offices to do more activities-with less staff and funding. By participating in Mapping Your Future's financial literacy counseling and other Online Student Loan Counseling sessions, a school has more time to assist those students who need individual assistance. The financial literacy counseling also can serve as a school's best practice in its student loan default prevention plan. Mapping Your Future offers a variety of Online Student Loan Counseling sessions in addition to financial literacy counseling, bringing the total number of sessions to 18:
Direct Loan entrance (English and Spanish) Stafford exit* (English and Spanish) Perkins entrance Perkins exit Direct Loan and Perkins combined entrance Stafford and Perkins combined exit* Nursing entrance Nursing exit Health Professions Student Loan entrance Health Professions Student Loan exit Direct PLUS entrance Grad PLUS exit* Direct Loan and Direct PLUS combined entrance Stafford and Grad PLUS combined exit* TEACH Grant exit
*Mapping Your Future's Stafford and Grad PLUS exit counseling sessions meet requirements under both the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. Schools must provide additional information to fully comply with loan counseling requirements.
Online Student Loan Counseling is a free service for students and schools, thanks to the support of Mapping Your Future's Sponsors and Friends. Visit the financial aid professional's page at mappingyourfuture.org/FAP/ for more information or to sign up to participate.
Mapping Your Future, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization, helping students plan better tomorrows.
Based in Round Rock, Texas, Mapping Your Future has, since 1996, consistently empowered students and families with the information and services they need to accomplish their career and higher education goals, as well as manage their finances. For more information about Mapping Your Future, visit us at MappingYourFuture.org or contact us at feedback@mappingyourfuture.org.

AUGUST 2010 ARTICLES
Message From GSFC President, Tim Connell
Final HOPE GPA Results Increasing numbers of students gain valuable financial literacy skills through Mapping Your Future
GSFC411 ARCHIVE
May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 More
RELATED LINKS
GAcollege411 Partner Update Compliance Corner Archive
Board of Regents
Technical College System of Georgia Mapping Your Future Department of Education Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges

Georgia Student Finance Commission 2082 East Exchange Place Tucker, Georgia 30084 (770) 724-9000 or 1-800-505-GSFC (4732) FAX (770) 724-9089
GAcollege411.org - www.gsfc.org