Hearings were conducted to discuss legislation aimed at reducing student loan defaults in the federal Guaranteed Student Loan program. The Student Default Initiative Act of 1988 is designed to address the growing cost of student loan defaults and the increasing imbalance between grant and loan assistance. It develops a procedure to get the…

The merits of providing more loan opportunities to parents and students and the implications of this growing reliance on borrowing are considered. The objective is to clarify the alternative federal aid approaches that will be discussed as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Federally-sponsored loan programs include Guaranteed…

Background questions to support a federally-sponsored assessment of major student aid delivery system options are addressed. Attention is directed to: (1) information needed by the U.S. Secretary of Education to decide about changes to the delivery system; (2) reasons that delivery system redesign is a critical issue; (3) what can be learned from…

The interrelationships of state programs and federal student assistance are examined, based on a survey of 50 governors' offices. Attention is directed to: the impact on states and aid recipients of federal funding reductions; the current and longer-run outlook of the state fiscal position; and views of state officials responsible for carrying out…