Growing up in Westminster in northern Maryland, Ron Shriver, 29, used to pass by the stately brick buildings of the college that is now McDaniel College and wonder: What went on up there on that hill overlooking Main Street? What would it be like to go to a college like that? What would it be like to go to college at all? Nobody in Mr. Shriver's…

This nation's federal student-loan system has reached a tipping point that, with the new leadership in Washington, offers a rare opportunity to create real change. To create a more consumer-focused student-loan program with both public and private capital, the Education Department, lenders, colleges in both programs, guarantors, and others should…

About 16 percent of veterans use the GI Bill to attend private institutions, roughly the same proportion as students generally. But at the most highly selective colleges, veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill barely fill a single classroom--38 at Penn, 22 at Cornell, and at Princeton, just one. The sparse numbers do not go unnoticed, veterans say.…

James M. Fadool, an associate professor of biology at Florida State University, got a federal grant of more than $300,000 to study eye defects using zebra-fish. Some of that money went to pay another researcher, $1,536 biweekly, to assist with the research and manage the lab where the fish were kept. But an audit by the Office of Inspector General…

The troubled student-loan market is a hot topic among legislators, policy makers, and the public. Two recurring issues are how to ensure that enough funds are available to students and how to ensure that lenders are fully repaid. Yet despite all the talk about loans, little has been proposed to help college students and their families with the…

At least one million community-college students are denied access to federally guaranteed student loans because their institutions do not participate in the federal programs. This article describes the results of a study by the Project on Debt, a nonprofit advocacy group, which found that one in 10 community-college students, including one in five…

Participation in two federal programs that supplement Pell Grants for high-achieving, low-income students grew significantly in the last academic year, though not as much as the Education Department had hoped, suggesting that the fledgling programs are still struggling to gain their footing. Approximately 465,000 college students received aid from…

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)

Colleges and universities are finding that improvements in the guaranteed student loan process are making it more attractive than direct lending. In its third year, the direct lending program's total loan volume remains at 33%, well below the 50% goal set in originating legislation. Even some of its strongest supporters fear the program will have…

President Obama's 2010 budget proposals include exciting news for those concerned with increasing educational opportunities. The urgency of the economic crisis and the clear commitment of the administration and Congress to make college more affordable provide the perfect opportunity for those in higher education to update their approach to…

One does not need to be an expert on student aid to recognize that the current loan system is complex, sometimes inefficient, and highly politicized. When it comes to financing a college education, there is no "one-stop shopping." Students and their parents have a multitude of lenders to choose from, including federal and state governments and…

Supporters of the new direct student loan program are critical of the private loan-guarantee agencies that cover lender losses on defaulted loans, portraying them as greedy, inefficient, and plagued by conflicts of interest. In turn, the agencies and banks doubt federal capacity to manage student borrowing. (MSE)

Discusses how the direct-lending program, popular with colleges, may be doomed; a lawsuit and changing political fortunes pose threats to the system. (EV)

Two years into its new life as a private company, the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) is both creating a division to handle the processing and clerical duties of college financial aid offices and backing away from a short-lived move into the business of underwriting college bonds. The agency also originates government-subsidized…

A federal committee has found that there is almost no evidence to judge whether the more than $3-billion the federal government spends annually to improve science and mathematics education is effective. The committee's report calls for greater assessment and coordination of such programs. The committee, known as the Academic Competitiveness…