| Publication Date: June 2006 DCL ID: ANN-06-07 This letter announces ADDITIONAL SPACE AVAILABLE for the Federal Student Aid's online, instructor-led training sessions to inform Financial Aid Administrators of the provisions of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act (P.L. 109-171) signed by the President on February 8, 2006 Posted on 06-19-2006 Dear Colleague: Federal Student Aid (FSA) is pleased to announce ADDITIONAL SPACE AVAILABLE for the series of instructor-led online training covering the provisions of the recently enacted Higher Education Reconciliation Act (HERA). The additional space will be available for the sessions that will be offered from June 27 through August 17. All sessions will be conducted live through the Internet, which will allow you to participate without leaving your desk. Two federal trainers followed by a question and answer period with a panel of subject experts from the Washington staff in FSA and Office of Postsecondary Education will conduct each session. Participants will be able to view the PowerPoint presentation on their computer screens, and connect to the live instructors through a toll-free telephone conference line. Participants will also be able to interact with the instructors and classmates via the telephone conference line as well as ask questions using their computer keyboard. Registration is required for these sessions. Please click on the link http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/training/specific.html#hera to choose the specific module, date and time that best fits your schedule. The training will be offered in three modules - each module will last from 1 1/2 to 2 hours: Module 1-- Grant Programs This will cover the implementation of two new grant programs available to U.S. citizens, enrolled in a degree-seeking program who are also Pell Grant recipients. The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) is available for recent high school graduates who have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study. This grant is only available during a student's first and second year of study. The Science and Math Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant is available to students in their third and fourth year of study, provided they are enrolled in designated programs of study, and maintain 3.0 GPA. This will also cover the process that Federal Student Aid has put in place to meet the required implementation of these new programs for the 2006-07 award year and subsequent years. Module 2 -- Student Eligibility, Institutional Eligibility, COA, Need Analysis and Return of Title IV Funds This will cover the changes schools need to know about miscellaneous provisions effective July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007. Module 3 -- Loan Issues A number of changes were made to the FFEL, Direct Loan and Perkins Loan programs. Our intent in this training is to cover areas of direct impact to students and institutions, not lenders and guaranty agencies. This includes implementation of the Graduate PLUS program effective July 1, 2006. Because this is an on-line session, you will need to have a computer with an internet connection and a separate phone line to access the audio portion of the training. Please click on the links below to determine if your system meets the requirements to access the session. This link provides system requirements: http://main.placeware.com/support/sys_req.cfm This link allows you to perform a browser check to ensure that you can use all features and that your computers are properly configured to use Microsoft Live: http://main.placeware.com/support/browser_check.cfm Sincerely, Kay Jacks
General Manager
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