Student Loan Blog

Just as Congress is about to vote on President Obama’s plan to end the government’s Federal Family Education Loan Program, through which families get their student loans from private third-party lenders, a lender advocacy group is urging lawmakers to consider an alternative to the president’s proposal, reports The Chronicle of ...

An additional 130,000 college work-study students may have jobs next year thanks to the economic-stimulus bill that President Obama just signed into law which allocates approximately $200 million in new funding for Federal Work-Study Programs, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Economic-Stimulus Law Creates Jobs for ...

In a move intended to avoid a shortfall in student loans next year, Congress has expanded the government program to buy federally guaranteed student loans from private lenders. Under the updated loan-purchase plan, the Education Department can now buy lenders’ student loans with origination dates between Oct. 1, 2003, and ...

Concerned that students who are eligible to go to college won’t be able to pay for their education costs in light of the current credit crisis and a steadily worsening economy, Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the federal government to make sure student loans are still available, according to an Associated Press article (“Schumer Wants ...

Without additional taxpayer funds next year, the government’s “most important” federal financial aid program may be unable to provide Pell Grants to millions of eligible low-income students, likely pricing these students out of a higher education, according to an article in The New York Times (“Pell Grants Said to Face a Shortfall,” Sept. ...

With problems in the credit markets continuing to plague student loan providers, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a year-long extension of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, which allows the secretary of education to buy student loans from cash-strapped lenders. If approved by the Senate, the measure, ...

Starting July 1, 2009, sex offenders confined in treatment centers throughout the country may no longer be eligible to receive need-based federal Pell Grants, under a new provision of the reauthorized Higher Education Act, according to an article in the Associated Press (“Congress Cuts Off College Aid For Sex Offenders,” Aug. 4, 2008).President ...

Five years overdue, the House and the Senate may finally reach a compromise on the re-authorized Higher Education Act, the law that predominantly governs student aid, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“With Compromises, Higher-Ed Bill Could Move Through Congress This Week,” July 28, 2008). If the bill makes it out ...

Language in the bill, currently before Congress, to re-authorize the Higher Education Act could lead distance-learning institutions to use home-monitoring devices to police their students who take courses online, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“New Systems Keep a Close Eye on Online Students at Home,” July ...

In spite of the financial assistance offered by the current G.I. Bill, military veterans face a series of daunting challenges when it comes to getting their college degree, including administrative hurdles and navigating the often complicated maze of veteran support services, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education ...