The text of "Student Loans: Are They Overburdening a Generation?", the report of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress concerning the impact of large student debts on the national economy, individual borrowers, education, and society in general is presented. (MSE)

Reviews the policies of various European governments concerning the financing of student costs for postsecondary eduation, touching on the payment of tuition, the use of grants or loans, the effects of different student populations, and some social and administrative implications of governmental support. (PGD)

Suggests alternative sources of financial aid for college students including loan programs, tax-exempt bonds, trust funds, and corporate or union tuition aid. Lack of information concerning available resources remains a major concern both for parents and colleges competing for students. (JAC)

Private loans also known as private-label loans or alternative loans, have long been part of the student financial aid equation, but are receiving new attention in recent years. Understanding who gets private loans and their reasons for borrowing these loans is critical for policymaking, but little research has been done. This report explores the…

Concerns have been raised that adult undergraduates, those 24 and older, receive inadequate assistance in meeting the costs of postsecondary education, especially those who take one to five credits per term, or less than halftime. Less-than-halftime students are not eligible for the Stafford loan programs and are eligible to receive only one of…

To address system problems and other management weaknesses, in 1998 Congress created the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) within the Department of Education. This office adopted a new approach to systems integration using middleware (software that can allow an application to access data residing indifferent databases) and Extensible Markup…

This guide for college students in Alberta, Canada, discusses paying back students loans. While it may be the last thing a student wants to think about as he or she leaves college, it is a good idea to plan how to pay back the loan. A Canadian student has 6 months free of payments on graduation, but then must begin paying student loans, principal…

A new service, TransferTrack, was developed by the National Student Loan Clearinghouse, that will enable postsecondary educational institutions to identify which of their former students have subsequently re-enrolled at other institutions and the identity of such institutions. This system will allow institutions to comply more easily with the…

Intended for financial aid counselors, this document provides guidelines to the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program for borrowers who are in school, as well as those in repayment, or in default. An introductory section explains the basics of the consolidated loan program, loan categories, and interest rates. Next, standards for borrower…

This paper discusses the role of student loans in college access. Borrowing to pay for education is a sound decision for most students, and student loans are a vital part of college financing policy. There has been a considerable increase in student borrowing, and much of this results from the introduction of the Stafford Loan in 1993. Borrowing…

This participant's guide includes: "Introduction: Welcome to Cash Management Life Cycle Training"; "Module 1: Review of Cash Management Principles" (cash management overview and activity); "Module 2: Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System Overview" (e.g., full participants and phase-in participants, COD…

This pamphlet provides basic facts about the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan Program for students. These loans include Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidation Loans. The pamphlet's sections are: (1) "The Direct Loan Program: What Is It?";…

This fact sheet discusses student financial aid in California postsecondary education. It indicates California student financial aid is increasing significantly: (1) in 2002-03, California students received over $8 billion in financial aid; (2) financial aid funding increased by over 30%, from $5.9 billion in 1998-99 to $8.1 billion in 2002-03;…

The Guaranteed Student Loan Program (GSLP) has had many problems, including a high default rate, student bankruptcy, bad press, and lack of government money. (PG)

Article outlines five different forms of student financial assistance and describes a short history of the development of educational finance. (RK)