In August 2022, the U.S Department of Education (ED) announced it would invoke the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to cancel up to $20,000 of federal student loan debts for borrowers who fell below certain income thresholds. The HEROES Act authorizes the Secretary to "waive or modify" statutory…

The Biden Administration has taken numerous actions to address student loan debt. These actions have ranged in scope (both in terms of the borrower populations affected and associated modification costs), their rationales, and the avenues through which they were taken (e.g., formal rulemaking procedures, issuance of guidance). One effect of these…

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, authorized under Title IV, Part D of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, is the primary federal student loan program administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The program makes available loans to undergraduate and graduate students and the parents of dependent…

Federal student aid is a financial help for eligible students to pay for educational expenses at an eligible postsecondary school (e.g., college, vocational school, graduate school). There are three categories of federal student aid: grants, workstudy, and loans. Federal student aid covers expenses such as tuition and fees, room and board, books…

This guide, which is sent to postsecondary schools, provides them with draft cohort default rates for student loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The guide is intended to assist schools in understanding how a cohort default rate is calculated, reviewing loan record…

This study examined student loan default rates at 98 of the 104 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. About 3 percent of all federal students loans made in fiscal year (FY) 1995 were made to students at HBCUs, a percentage that has remained steady from FY 1991 through FY 1995. For FY 1993, the average loan…

This report discusses the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs, formerly referred to as the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) Programs, which are designed to insure and subsidize loans private lenders make to students and their parents to help them meet the cost of postsecondary education. Chapter 1 outlines the major features of the FFEL…

This report discusses recent changes in federal aid to postsecondary students enacted by Congress during 1992-93, focusing on the 1992 Amendments to the Higher Education Act and the 1993 Federal Direct Student Loan (DL) Program. The report reviews recent issues surrounding federal aid to postsecondary students, such as program accountability and…

This report lists schools with fiscal year (FY) 1995, FY 1996, and FY 1997 official cohort student loan default rates that are 25 percent or higher. As a result, these schools are subject to initial loss of eligibility to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, and/or the Federal Pell…

This report lists schools with fiscal year (FY) 1995, FY 1996, and FY 1997 official cohort student loan default rates that are 25 percent or higher and have lost eligibility to participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, and/or the Federal Pell Grant Program due to prior year cohort default…

This report lists postsecondary schools with official student loan default rates of 25.0 percent or greater for fiscal years (FY) 1994, 1995, and 1996. The listed schools had previously been excluded from the Federal Family Education Loan Program and/or the Federal Direct Student Loan Program due to their high default rates, and this exclusion may…

This guide discusses federal student aid programs for postsecondary education and how to apply for them. It begins by outlining sources for finding out about student aid, such as schools, state higher education agencies, guidance counselors, and organizations connected with particular fields of interest. It offers tips on how to choose a school…

This report lists postsecondary schools with official student loan default rates of 25.0 percent or greater for fiscal years (FY) 1994, 1995, and 1996. The listed schools may therefore be excluded for the first time from participation in the Federal Family Education Loan Program and/or the Federal Direct Student Loan Program due to their high…

This guide discusses federal student aid programs for postsecondary education and how to apply for them. It begins by outlining sources for finding out about student aid, such as schools, state higher education agencies, guidance counselors, and organizations connected with particular fields of interest. It then offers tips on how to choose a…

This guide describes federal student aid programs for postsecondary education and how to apply for them. It begins by outlining sources for learning about student aid, such as school financial aid administrators, state higher education agencies, foundations, organizations related to particular fields of interest, and toll-free telephone numbers…