This report examines issues relevant to establishing an Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) ombudsman office within the Department of Education. The OSFA ombudsman office came out of the need to improve student lending program services and to mitigate the impact of loan default on students. It was determined that students involved in…

This report gives recommendations for the 1999 budget policy for higher education within the state of New Jersey. In its background section of previous budget policies and related reports, the report describes the Commission's goals and plans on financing, the condition of New Jersey's financial aid to students, incentive programs, and remaining…

This background paper on institutional lending examines institutional lender policy in the Stafford Student Loan Program, the study of which was mandated in the 1986 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The paper's particular purpose, however, is to familiarize the reader with the general operation of programs and the historical…

This document is a self-study report conducted by the Financial Aid/Veteran's Department of the Student Services Division of Rogue Community College (RCC) (Oregon). It is divided into five sections: unit description, mission and goals, analysis and appraisal, recommendations and actions taken, and contacts. Highlights include: (1) RCC has…

This report discusses problems reported by lenders participating in the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). The study examined the nature and the source of the problems experienced by the lenders, how they affected lenders, and what steps the Department of Education and Electronic Data Systems…

The role of lawyers representing colleges on Title IV (Higher Education Act) student aid issues is to prevent, identify, correct, negotiate, resolve, or litigate regulatory problems confronting participating colleges. These functions also extend to problems arising before the existence of accrediting agencies, state licensing bodies, guaranty…

This document reproduces the testimony on the subject of a recent General Accounting Office report on the relative federal cost of guaranteed and direct student loans in postsecondary and higher education. The comments focus on the potential federal savings associated with substituting Stafford loans with direct loans and the effect that a direct…

In order to determine the financial concerns and needs of higher education institutions and preparatory schools, 200 telephone interviews were conducted during January and February 1990 with 150 colleges or universities and 50 preparatory schools randomly selected and located in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Results showed that schools…

This document, from the State of New York's Office of the State Comptroller, contains the results of an audit on the records and procedures used in administering the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) at Stenotype Academy (Stenotype) for academic years 1993-94 through 1995-96. It states that Stenotype was overpaid $230,478 because school officials…

Although many independent schools are seeing a diversification in their student bodies, existing structures, such as financial aid awards, have not been modified. In addition, many financial-aid managers in independent schools have 0-5 years of experience in student financial aid. This handbook profiles the overall step-by-step process for…

This publication offers a summary of a symposium designed to elicit dialogue on the costs and benefits of eliminating the restrictions on institutional lending in the Stafford Loan Program. Approximately 100 people, representing postsecondary institutions, commercial lenders, guaranty agencies, secondary markets, loan servicing groups, and…

A study was undertaken at Macomb Community College (MCC), in Michigan, to review the effectiveness of the college's financial aid department. Data were gathered from a search of the literature related to financial aid services and a review of comments and findings from MCC alumni and financial aid surveys. In addition, surveys were conducted of…

Site visits to a sample of 173 colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, and other postsecondary institutions--conducted to examine the procedures used to manage federal Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) and campus-based student financial assistance programs--are summarized. This report deals only with the conduct of the…

Describes the Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS), which was created in response to the increasing need for revenues in archdiocesan schools and declining enrollments due to tuition increases. Through corporate and individual support BLOCS improves educational opportunities by providing tuition assistance, capital…

Responses to a questionnaire circulated in March 1981 are summarized. Data were gathered from all states regarding the federal Guaranteed Student Loan Program (GSL) and the state guarantee agencies on: guarantee agency organizational types; dates of GSL agreements with the Department of Education; states that guaranteed loans before GSL;…