Over the last three decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with almost $1.4 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The Direct Loan program provides financial assistance to students and their parents to help pay for postsecondary education. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review changes…

The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a new proposed risk-sharing model that would require colleges to repay the federal government for a calculated proportion of their…

The federal government's student loan programs for higher education convey substantial financial benefits to borrowers because of their broad availability and favorable terms. Of the various provisions included in a federal student loan contract, the option to consolidate individual loans contributes greatly to a borrower's benefits and the cost…

Federal student loans include a complex consolidation option that gives borrowers the opportunity to combine several loans into a single loan with a longer term to maturity and, for loans originated before July 2006, to convert from a variable- to a fixed-rate loan. The consolidation option adds substantial costs to the federal student loan…

The federal government assists students and their parents in meeting the costs of postsecondary education through two student loan programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. Although the two programs provide similar benefits to borrowers, their structures and operations differ greatly. As a…