This report examines the four program activities that account for two-thirds of delinquent debt owed to the Federal government: the Department of Education's Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) with $20 billion and the housing programs of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Agriculture that…

This study reviews the financial soundness of the Perkins Loan Program, a federal program that provides low-interest loans to financially needy students through postsecondary institutions, and identifies ways to make the Perkins program less financially dependent on additional federal appropriations to cover operating costs and default losses.…

This publication is intended to accompany the official cohort default rate notification letters sent to postsecondary schools each year and to be used by the schools in preparing materials used for appeals. The guide covers the Federal Family Education Loan Program and/or William D. Ford Direct Loan Program cohort rates and does not contain…

Whereas many prior studies evaluated the association between borrower or institutional characteristics and default behavior, the general finding of most researchers today is that college success plays a bigger role in predicting who will default than either the background of the borrower or the type of institution attended. All else being equal,…

Analyzes data showing the progress made by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in reducing student loan default rates and discusses implications of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 on the development of HBCU default management plans. Identifies continuing barriers to higher education for minorities, including poor…

Fiscal year 1995 marks the first year during which an independent audit was conducted of the U.S. Department of Education's financial statements. This first annual accountability report describes the department's history, current mission, priorities, and progress. It highlights the department's program and fiscal accomplishments and describes…

This report presents findings and recommendations resulting from a study on the costs and benefits of a Department of Education policy of encouraging lenders of student loans to grant forbearances to borrowers who experience temporary financial hardship but do not satisfy the specific conditions required for government-prescribed deferments. The…

In enacting the 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the Congress changed Section 435(a)(5) of the act to lift the exemption for cohort default rates that were established for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Navajo Colleges in 1990. The new provisions became…

The National Institutes of Health has developed innovative programs to help students, mostly medical school graduates, to repay or to forgive student loans, including physician participation in AIDS research, general research, and contraception and fertility, and plans for graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program also provides…

Reviews problems with the Stafford Student Loan Program (Federal Family Educational Loan Program), including high-risk borrowers, dishonest school officials, negligent lenders, and guaranty agencies. Critiques recent reform measures designed to simplify the program. Suggests alternative policies, particularly direct loans from the federal…

A discussion of the high level of student borrowing to pay for higher education looks at the situation today, examines college cost and aid trends, explores implications for the future if students continue to increase their borrowing, and offers a proposal to create a new generation of loan forgiveness programs through a public/private…

Largely because of high student loan default rates, much of the criticism of federal aid programs has focused on policies and practices affecting the participation of proprietary schools in federal student aid. This report reviews alternative indicators of school performance that are currently used or could be used by the federal student aid…

Department of Education regulations and initiatives designed to address problems of fraud, abuse, and loan default in federal student aid programs are examined. The scope and intrusiveness of some recent regulations are criticized, and unintended effects are noted, including increased administrative burdens on all institutions. (Author/MSE)

During the past several years, Allen County Community College has experienced a growing number of uncollected student accounts. In an effort to encourage timely payment of student charges, lower the number of students receiving payment deferments, increase cash flow at the beginning of each semester, and reduce the number of bad debts being…

This study examined the characteristics of students who default on their student loans and compared default among Whites, Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Four logistic regression models were developed using information from the National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study which contains an array of pre-college, college,…