In almost half of the Department of Education's biennial audits of colleges receiving federal financial aid, institutions are found to have made mistakes in aid distribution, and each year the department asks colleges to return $25-million in aid money. Better oversight methods are urged. (MSE)

Researchers, economists, and campus administrators who have followed federal student aid programs worry that businesses have turned the Guaranteed Student Loan Program into a lucrative industry that doesn't always have the students' interest in mind, and a congressional study group is also concerned about aspects of the program. (MSE)

Under the College Housing Loan Program, the Education Department lends money to colleges to build and refurbish dormitories and other student facilities. Problems plaguing the loan program are discussed. Both colleges and the federal government have broken most of the rules governing the program. (MLW)