Debt-Management Perspectives
USA Funds Prevents More Than $14 Billion in Loan Defaults
USA Funds® helped borrowers avoid default on nearly $14.4 billion in past-due student-loan accounts during the past fiscal year. Read the announcement.
Nevada Financial-Aid Administrators Plan for Default-Prevention Success
Financial-aid administrators from six postsecondary institutions participated in Nevada Default-Prevention Day, presented by USA Funds. Learn more.
Washington Report
Senate Approves 2006 Funding for Student Aid
The U.S. Senate has approved a 2006 appropriations bill that includes more than $15 billion for major federal student-aid programs. Learn more.
House Panel Recommends Additional Savings From Student-Loan Programs
A U.S. House committee is recommending nearly $15 billion in savings from federal student-loan programs to meet its target for cutting government entitlement spending. Read more.
GAO: Cost Estimates of Student-Loan Programs Omit Key Items
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued another report in the long-running debate over the relative costs to the government of running the two major federal student-loan programs. Read more.
USA Funds Update
Newsletter Highlights USA Funds’ Initiatives to Promote Higher-Education Preparedness, Access and Success
USA Funds has issued the latest edition of a quarterly newsletter highlighting its support of programs that enhance preparation for, access to and success in higher education. The fall-2005 issue of “USA Funds Education Partnerships” includes articles about a national initiative to improve higher-education access for low-income students, successful community-based access programs, and USA Funds-employee participation in a community-service project. Download a copy of the newsletter.
USA Funds’ Fall-2005 Financial-Aid-Workshop Webcasts Start Nov. 21
Financial-aid administrators can register to participate in webcasts covering five of the Fall-2005 Financial-Aid Workshop topics. You can view the detailed topics and register for the webcasts through the USA Funds University Online-Learning site.
Tech Talk
Loan-Delivery Enhancements Benefit Schools and Lenders
Recent enhancements to the loan-delivery systems that support the USA Funds guarantee allow more flexibility for schools and lenders in administering their loan processes. Read a summary of the enhancements.
Correction
An article in the Oct. 25, 2005, issue of USA Funds Education Access Report erroneously indicated that certain enhancements available beginning Oct. 24, 2005, to the OpenNet File Management System would offer schools a means to transmit all online loan transactions to multiple service providers. The features described in the article will be pilot-tested by a select group of schools and are not yet widely available. We regret any inconvenience caused by this error.
Operations Bulletin
Dear Colleague Letter Addresses Variety of Questions
The U.S. Department of Education released Dear Colleague Letter GEN-05-16, which answers questions recently posed to the Department about 11 topics. Read more.
Frequently Asked Question: Overlapping Academic Years
USA Funds’ policy department offers answers about determining loan eligibility for students with “overlapping” academic years. Read more.