American consumers owe more than $150 billion in outstanding private student loan debt. While this amount is significantly less than the amount outstanding on student loans guaranteed by the federal government, the private student loan ("PSL") product is an important component of higher education finance and does not appear to be well…

The credit market in the United States currently suffers from a rare and serious disruption. Once flowing with liquidity, the creativity and vibrancy of these markets helped fuel an economy that had been the envy of the world. Poor repayment performance in the subprime mortgage market has now reduced the availability of funds needed for other…

The 1998 Amendments of the Higher Education Act require the U.S. Department of Education and the General Accounting Office to identify no fewer than 3 different market mechanisms for use in determining lender return on student loans while continuing to meet the other objectives of the Federal Student Loan Program. This report is the final report…

This guide, written in Spanish, discusses how to repay student loans. Following a general introduction, the guide discusses the grace period before repayment and repayment requirements. Repayment plans are described for Perkins Loans, Direct Loans, and Federal Family Education Loans. Repayment options are discussed, including consolidation,…

Since September 11, 2001, over 1.3 million members of the armed forces have been deployed in service to the United States. Congress enacted the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act to recognize the needs of those servicemembers who are deployed in the midst of pursuing postsecondary education or repaying student loans.…

Intended for financial aid counselors, this document provides guidelines to the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program for borrowers who are in school, as well as those in repayment, or in default. An introductory section explains the basics of the consolidated loan program, loan categories, and interest rates. Next, standards for borrower…

This report describes progress in addressing problems identified earlier in the process of consolidating student loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) or the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Consolidation loans allow borrowers to extend their repayment periods and may combine loans under either or both…

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…

Certain state or not-for-profit agencies guarantee payment to banks and other lending institutions if students fail to repay loans obtained through the Federal Family Education Loan Program. The 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act authorize the Secretary of Education to enter into voluntary flexible agreements (VFAs) with individual…

This brief pamphlet is a financial planning and repayment guide designed to help college students make informed decisions about participating in Federal Family Educational Loan Programs as administered in California through the California Student Aid Commission. Following an introduction the guide begins by suggesting that students map out a…

This report examines how the Department of Education calculates the default rate for two federal student loan programs--the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). The report focuses on three questions regarding these programs: (1) whether there has been an increase in the number of…

This guide is intended to help educational institutions counsel students and parents about consolidation of federal education loans for borrowers in repayment, borrowers in default, and borrowers who are still in school. Through consolidation, borrowers may combine various types of federal education loans, including direct loans and loans made…

This 2-volume report summarizes a study that examined the satisfaction of borrowers who were repaying student loans originated through the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan programs. Volume 1 presents a summary of the report's findings. A total of 1,328 respondents from a nationally representative sample of 3,000 borrowers in…

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…

Historical data concerning the federal Guaranteed Student Loan Program/Stafford Student Loan Program/Family Education Loan Program are presented, tracing default rates since 1980 and the population distributions for borrowers by institution type (overall, collegiate, noncollegiate, public or private, two- or four-year, proprietary). Individual…