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)

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)

In almost half of the Department of Education's biennial audits of colleges receiving federal financial aid, institutions are found to have made mistakes in aid distribution, and each year the department asks colleges to return $25-million in aid money. Better oversight methods are urged. (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)

Under the College Housing Loan Program, the Education Department lends money to colleges to build and refurbish dormitories and other student facilities. Problems plaguing the loan program are discussed. Both colleges and the federal government have broken most of the rules governing the program. (MLW)

The Javits fellowship program, designed to encourage students to enter the arts, humanities, and social sciences by offering fellowships that would allow them to attend prestigious institutions, is described. Some believe the Reagan Administration has delayed each competition because it wanted to abolish the Javits program. (MLW)

The surge in federal aid to students at proprietary schools, many of whom drop out, means that students seeking bachelor's degrees at non-profit public and private institutions are getting less aid. Proprietary schools claim they are doing a better job of educating disadvantaged students. (MSE)

More than a year before the 1988 fiscal year begins, budget analysts have completed the difficult and complex process of interpreting administration policy, created detailed proposals for education spending for that year, and submitted the proposals to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. (MSE)

Secretary of Education William Bennett proposes that gimmicky federal programs are not the key to boosting American economic competitiveness, but rather that developing in American schoolchildren the qualities of honesty, responsibility, and regard for others' rights will help Americans compete in world markets. (MSE)

A federally sponsored project called ACCESS is described, which is designed to help rural high school students in 27 counties of northwest Missouri obtain skills needed to attend college or trade school and then return to work in their communities. (MLW)