Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…

About half of the more than $1 trillion in outstanding federal student Direct Loans are being repaid by borrowers using IDR plans. Some borrowers in IDR plans are now potentially eligible for forgiveness of their remaining loan balances after 20 or 25 years of payments. GAO was asked to review IDR forgiveness. This report examines: (1) how many…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: (1) the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program; (2) the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program; and (3) the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program makes several types of federal student loans available to individuals to assist them with financing postsecondary education expenses. It represents the single largest source of federal financial assistance to support students' postsecondary educational pursuits. The U.S. Department of…

This report describes progress in addressing problems identified earlier in the process of consolidating student loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) or the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Consolidation loans allow borrowers to extend their repayment periods and may combine loans under either or both…

This study examined borrower satisfaction with the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs. A telephone survey of approximately 3,600 student and parent borrowers who had originated loans under the two programs in 1994-95 found that: (1) Direct Loan borrowers with previous FFEL loans were more likely than FFEL…

This report examines how the Department of Education calculates the default rate for two federal student loan programs--the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). The report focuses on three questions regarding these programs: (1) whether there has been an increase in the number of…

This study examined satisfaction of approximately 2,200 institutions of higher education that participated in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1995-96 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their programs, although Direct Loan…

As part of a 5-year evaluation of the Direct Loan and the Federal Family Education Loan programs, 19 institutions of higher education participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program were visited to examine the diversity of approaches used by schools in planning for and implementing the Direct Loan program. The schools included…

This study examined satisfaction of approximately 2,200 institutions of higher education that participated in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1996-97 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their loan programs, although FFEL…

As part of a 5-year evaluation of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, 12 participating institutions of higher education were visited to examine the diversity of approaches used by schools in planning for and implementing the program. The schools included public and private two- and four-year institutions and proprietary schools. Major…

As part of a 5-year evaluation of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, this study assessed the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) administration of the program. Data were obtained through interviews with ED and other federal officials, institutional surveys, reviews of documents, attendance at meetings and training events, facilitated…

This study examined the institutional satisfaction of approximately 2,250 institutions of higher education participating in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs during the 1997-1998 academic year. Among major findings were: (1) both Direct Loan and FFEL institutions were satisfied with their loan programs,…

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 Federal Direct Student Loan Program is not an improvement over the Federal Family Education Loan Program and is doomed to fail as did a similar large-scale federal program 33 years ago. The program will not save money; the government is ill-equipped to manage it; it has been pushed past its demand; and schools do not want the change. (MSE)