This study examined the institutional satisfaction of approximately 2,250 institutions of higher education participating in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1997-1998 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their loan programs, although FFEL institutions indicated a significantly higher level of overall satisfaction; (2) between 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 the proportion of satisfied Direct Loan schools increased from 64 percent to 71 percent; (3) between 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 satisfaction among FFEL schools increased from 83 percent to 84 percent; (4) schools participating fully in Direct Loan programs were more satisfied than schools phasing in the program, and schools participating fully in the FFEL program were more satisfied than were schools that participated in both programs; and (5) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions reported similar levels of satisfaction in 1997-1998 compared to 1996-1997 in regard to the timeliness and usefulness of Department of Education information and support. Technical appendixes include detailed tables, data on the distribution of responses and response rates, item response frequencies, specifics of the survey methodology, and the two surveys. (MDM)