Federal agencies have had to begin making automatic budget reductions according to the new version of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit-reduction law, resulting in increased student loan fees and decreased banker subsidies. (MSE)

Student financial aid analysts are suggesting the federal government establish a government-run loan bank or trust fund to eliminate the need for lender involvement in the Guaranteed Student Loan Program, but congressional aides think that dismantling the existing program is unlikely. (MSE)

Researchers, economists, and campus administrators who have followed federal student aid programs worry that businesses have turned the Guaranteed Student Loan Program into a lucrative industry that doesn't always have the students' interest in mind, and a congressional study group is also concerned about aspects of the program. (MSE)

The American Council on Education's president has proposed a broad plan to overhaul federal student aid, replacing current programs with a more coherent plan. It would expand grant-money for low-income students and maintain the present guaranteed-loan program while creating two new loan plans to reduce government costs. (MSE)

This paper offers information and analysis of the direct lending portion of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The direct lending proposal is described in an opening letter to the reader as a provision that would make the Pell Grant Program an entitlement and raise the maximum award to $4,500 with provisions that would…

This paper provides recommendations for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a demonstration program designed to assess direct lending as a replacement for the current federal student loan program. It offers a list of principles which the demonstration project should address. Recommendations include: (1) maintenance of student…

Colleges and lenders are devising new ways to help families pay tuition in light of recent changes in federal aid and tax policies. The alternatives include federal supplemental credit programs, loans promoted by financial institutions, extended repayment plans securing loans with home mortgages, and regional long-term supplemental loans. (MSE)

The report provides information on the possible impact of revised eligibility requirements on the volume of supplemental loans for students (SLS). These are market-rate loans made to postsecondary students in addition to or in lieu of other financial aid, such as Stafford loans (formerly called guaranteed student loans) and Pell grants. The data…

The General Accounting Office reviewed 18 relevant studies and analyzed existing data from the High School and Beyond Survey of 58,728 students to determine students' and parents' knowledge of federal financial aid for postsecondary education. It was found that students and parents knew very little about financial aid and held erroneous views…

The United States spends more than $500 billion a year on education at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. State, local, and private expenditures account for over 90 percent of the spending, and agencies of the federal government contribute less than 10 percent. This report highlights the U.S. Department of Education's current…

This report responds to the 1992 Virginia General Assembly's request of the State Council of Higher Education to "study the efficacy and appropriateness of establishing a prepaid tuition trust program within the Commonwealth's system of higher education." They asked that the study include, at least, an examination of programs in other…

This report presents the results of an audit of the Principal Financial Statements of the Department of Education's Federal Family Education Loan Program and its internal controls and compliance with laws and regulations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1992. The report details the following findings: (1) the Statement of Cash Flows were…

This letter report by the Director of Education and Employment Issues in the U.S. General Accounting Office responds to a request from Senator Edward M. Kennedy for information on the federal costs involved for liquidation activities of the Higher Education Assistance Foundation (HEAF) in fiscal year (FY) 1992, the second year of the agreement to…

This advisory report investigates the possible simplification of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and considers the issue of federal direct lending. The evaluation indicates that complexity in the FFELP is due to multiple, overlapping loan programs with conflicting terms and conditions. Nonstandard policies, procedures, forms, and…

This document presents seven papers that address several aspects of the new direct lending federal loan program established by the Student Loan Reform Act of 1993. Among the topics examined are the following: (1) the experiences with implementing new student aid programs; (2) the policy questions involved in lending in proprietary (profit-making)…