Briefing paper provides background on key loan-program issues

USA Funds Releases Guide to Student Loan Issues to Inform Reauthorization

INDIANAPOLIS — To provide helpful background to the student-aid community and federal policy makers during the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, USA Funds^®, the nation's leading education-loan guarantor, has released a briefing paper, Guide to Student Loan Issues.

Britta Anderson, who has more than 20 years of experience in student-loan legislative and policy issues and serves as a consultant to USA Funds on student-loan issues, is the paper's author. The publication provides a balanced overview of the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program; their histories, program cost comparisons and competitive aspects of the two programs; as well as a summary of student loan program management issues.

Special sections of the paper offer a primer on the student-loan programs; discuss policy issues regarding loan consolidation; and provide background on lender special-allowance payments, the alternative market mechanisms study, the functions and funding of student-loan guarantors, and voluntary flexible agreements.

"Because student loans account for half of all student aid, student-loan matters are certain to receive significant attention during the upcoming reauthorization," said Terry L. Muilenburg, USA Funds' senior vice president, Government and Industry Relations. "We offer this objective overview of the loan programs to provide policy makers and other interested parties with the context in which to consider proposals for loan-program policy changes."

Download the briefing paper as a PDF file (900 Kb). You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the document.