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Sen. Hillary Clinton Unveils Plan to Tackle the Student Loan Crisis
29 April 08 10:56 AM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton recently announced the details of a sweeping plan to help ensure students have continued access to federal student loans amid a flurry of private lenders leaving the federal student loan program. “Hundreds of thousands of students Read More...

Filed under: college, college loans, decision 2008, democratic primary, Department of Education, ecomonmic slowdown, Education Department, Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, federal loans, Federal Student Loan Program, Federal Student Loans, FFELP, Hillary Clinton, mortgage crsis, mortgage industry, mortgage meltdown, NextStudent, parent PLUS loans, PLUS Loans, predatory lending, presidential candidates, presidential primaries, private loans, private student loans, recession, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, student loan crisis, student loan information, student loans

Financial Aid Administrators Oppose New Preferred-Lender List Rule
23 April 08 06:01 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has asked the Department of Education to reconsider its interpretation of a new rule that requires colleges to have at least three student loan lenders that are not affiliated with each Read More...

Filed under: college, college loans, credit crisis, Department of Education, Education Department, financial aid administrators, Kelly Field, NASFAA, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, NextStudent, Philip Day Jr., preferred lender lists, Preferred Lenders, private student loans, student loan crisis, student loans, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Kennedy to Colleges: Have Back-Up Plan for Students
21 April 08 05:34 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

In a letter sent to the American Council on Education on April 15, Sen. Edward Kennedy , D-Mass., the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, urged colleges to sign up for the Department of Education’s Federal Direct Loan Program as a preventive measure Read More...

Filed under: American Council on Education, college, college loans, credit crunch, Department of Education, direct lending, Edward Kennedy, Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, FFELP, FinAid, FinAid.org, NextStudent, private student loans, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Strengthening Student Aid Act of 2008, student loan crisis, Student Loan Legislation, student loans

Department of Education Planning Emergency Financial Aid Survey
18 April 08 04:45 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

In an effort to better gauge the availability of federal student loans, the U.S. Department of Education is planning to issue an emergency survey to the 4,500 colleges that participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program. With almost 50 FFELP Read More...

Filed under: College Access, college loans, credit crisis, Department of Education, Education Department, Federal Family Education Loan Program, Federal Register, FFELP, Margaret Spellings, NextStudent, private student loans, recession, Spellings, student loan crisis, student loans

Availability of Federal Perkins Student Loans Is Dwindling
13 April 08 10:28 AM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

A growing shortage of funds in the federal Perkins student loan program could affect as many as 50,000 students in the upcoming academic year, according to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report . Students who would have been eligible to receive Read More...

Filed under: college, college loans, Department of Education, financial aid, funding, graduate students, Interest Rates, Kim Clark, Loans, Michigan State University, MSU, NextStudent, Ohio University, Perkins Loan Program, Perkins loans, Rick Shipman, State News, student loans, subsidized, U.S. News & World Report, undergraduate, University of Maryland

Who Decides if Higher Ed in the United States is Up to Par?
25 April 07 09:47 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

So, I’ve been following the quality and accountability in higher education debate for a while. Basically, the U.S. Department of Education, represented by Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of Education, and representatives from higher education institutions Read More...

Filed under: Department of Education, Higher Education, NextStudent

College Student Aid May Soon Be Disbursed by Debit Cards
24 April 07 10:04 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

According to the April 23, 2007 article by Paul Basken, titled “ New Rules Are Designed to Streamline Flow of Federal Student Aid to Colleges and Students” that appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education : “ Representatives of the U.S. Education Department, Read More...

Filed under: Debit Cards, Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, NextStudent

Higher Education Accreditation
20 April 07 08:03 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

Who gets to choose what is acceptable when it comes to student performance in higher education; bottom-line, what agency sets the standards for accreditation. According to an April 19, 2007 article written by Doug Lederman, titled “Showdown Looms on Accreditation,” Read More...

Filed under: accreditation, American Council on Education, Department of Education, Higher Education, NextStudent

In Defense of a Higher Budget for Higher Ed
21 March 07 03:26 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

I do not know if this always holds true, but my observation has been that when politicians clash, at least when it comes to debating budget issues in higher education, students benefit. “The U.S. under secretary of education appeared before the House Read More...

Filed under: Department of Education, Higher Education Budget, Need-Based Aid, NextStudent, Pell Grant

College Student Loan/Aid Programs: TRUE Reform Forthcoming?
27 February 07 06:16 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

In the midst of the plethora of democratic legislation being in limbo (STAR Act, Sunshine Act, Student Debt Relief Act, H.R. 5, still pending), the U.S. Department of Education appears to be doing something fresh and original. Instead of devising ways Read More...

Filed under: Commission on the Future of Higher Education, Department of Education, H.R. 5, NextStudent, Pell Grants, STAR Act, Student Debt Relief Act, Sunshine Act

Who Are They Kidding? Defend Your Rights While You Still Can
23 February 07 10:28 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

On Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 I wrote about the new STAR Act, whose proponents claim that with all the potential savings to be won by colleges switching from the FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) to the FDLP (Federal Direct Lending Program), approximately Read More...

Filed under: Department of Education, FDLP, FFELP, NextStudent, Sen. Edward Kennedy, STAR Act

Pell Grant Gets Welcome Boost in 2007-2008 Budget Plans
06 February 07 10:14 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

In previous blogs, I addressed that college education is becoming more and more unobtainable for low-income students. Many are opting out of the system, choosing to attend community colleges or not to attend at all, since the debt load required for attendance Read More...

Filed under: College Funding, Consolidation, Department of Education, financial aid, Higher Education, Next Student, NextStudent, Pell Grant, student loan consolidation, student loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program

Education and the Budget Proposal for FY08
05 February 07 09:44 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

Good news for the Department of Education, as it looks like the White House is set to increase the Pell Grant even more than the $260 proposed by the Democrat’s “Joint Funding Resolution” that I reported on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. According to a briefing Read More...

Filed under: College Funding, Consolidation, Department of Education, financial aid, Next Student, NextStudent, Pell Grants, student loan consolidation, student loans

Grant Process Closed on Strengthening Institutions Program
31 January 07 09:55 PM | Student Loan Girl | 0 Comments   

Grants are an important source of funding for any institution and organization in need of money. Not only do grants help students defray the cost of attendance, they also help colleges keep their tuition costs in check because awarded funds can help strengthen Read More...

Filed under: College Funding, Community Colleges, Consolidation, Department of Education, Federal Grants, financial aid, Next Student, NextStudent, Scholarships, Strengthening Institutions Program, student loan consolidation, student loans

U.S. Education Department’s Official on Accreditation Leaves Job
29 January 07 10:06 PM | Student Loan Girl | 7 Comments   

According to a Jan. 29, 2007 article titled “ U.S. Accreditation Official Out of a Job” written by Doug Lederman that appeared in Inside Higher Ed , John W. Barth, the director of accreditation and state liaison at the Department of Education, has transferred Read More...

Filed under: accreditation, College Funding, Consolidation, Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, financial aid, Next Student, NextStudent, student loan consolidation, student loans