By: Gaurav Bhola, MSM, Managing Editor

As the student loan scandal of 2007 fades into oblivion, students and their families are still not any closer to getting the comprehensive reforms Congress and the regulators promised. Last year, an investigation led by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into the college loan practices of private loan lenders and universities finally brought into the spotlight this diabolical coalition. A New York Times expose lead to Cuomo’s inquiry which revealed that some schools were receiving bribes from lenders in return for steering students to their loan programs.

The investigation revealed financial aid officials and other college officers receiving direct kickbacks from certain lenders in the form of trips, stock options, lunches, and so on.

However, the New Year has been dominated by other headlines; the student loan “scandal” seems forgotten. Meanwhile, Cuomo has moved on to greener pastures. And Congress’s impetus has also cooled, even though some action had been taken by them for example ending the government subsidies given to private school lenders.

Still, college and university loan lenders are not out of trouble yet. The U.S. Department of Education is beginning with administrative inquiries and enforcement actions that will become prominent in 2008. In the latter half of 2007, Congress and the General Accountability Office, amplified their oversight of the schools and the private lenders, as the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office sent official letters to 921 colleges whose school loan volume was mostly, if not completely, with one private lender.

The letters were serious in tone and message, intending to remind universities that their actions had to take into account only students’ interests and mustn’t violate the Higher Education Act of 1965 and its amended regulations. Out of the original 921 colleges, 55 colleges and 23 lenders received notification requesting documents and information that may show documentation of improper allurements and inducements of financial aid officials. It is likely that there will be some enforcement action by the Education Department in 2008.

But the U.S. Congress has more power to bring about change than a federal government department. For example, last year Congress passed an amended version of the Student Loan Sunshine Act. by a vote of 414-3, the bill would force colleges and loan lenders to follow stringent codes of conduct; provide full disclosure of school-lender alliances; ban lender gifts to financial aid officers; and protect students from perpetual marketing practices.

The current state of the economy has shifted the focus in Congress from the student loan industry discrepancies. The government is concentrating instead on the credit crunch, housing and mortgage markets. The remedy of the college loan industry is an afterthought, no longer on their radar. While, Congress shows apathy towards the students and their families, certain private loan lenders and colleges rejoice in the legislature’s disinterest.

Citing ongoing fallout from the national capital market crisis, Kentucky officials announced the state’s student loan agency will stop making student loans to first-time borrowers beginning May 1 until it can secure additional financing, according to an article by Nancy C. Rodriguez in the The Courier-Journal (“State to Suspend Student Loans to First-Time Borrowers,” April 18, 2008).

The Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corp., also known as The Student Loan People, will continue to make student loans for its returning borrowers based on the availability of funds.

In the meantime, the student loan company has asked the U.S. Treasury to allow the Federal Financing Bank to temporarily help the state fund new student loans until confidence in the market is restored.

A few months ago, the state also announced it would be phasing out three loan-forgiveness programs for health care, education, and public prosecutors due to federal cutbacks and overall market instability.

In a letter sent to the American Council on Education on April 15, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, urged colleges to sign up for the Department of Education’s Federal Direct Loan Program as a preventive measure against the potential funding inadequacies within the Federal Family Education Loan Program.

His recommendation to colleges and universities to enroll in the direct-lending program as a backup option for student loan funding is yet another one of Kennedy’s attempts to help protect students against a federal funding nightmare this fall.

Kennedy has also introduced the Strengthening Student Aid Act of 2008 into the Senate that would, in part, allow the federal government to inject liquidity into the student loan market and enable the Department of Education to purchase FFELP loans from failing lenders.

Kennedy’s efforts to help secure the federal student loan sector come at a time when almost 50 FFELP lenders have suspended their federal student loan programs in recent months, including 21 of the top originators of federal student loans and five of the largest holders of student loan portfolios, according to FinAid.org.

Several schools had already made the move to the Direct Loan Program before Kennedy sent his letter to the ACE, including Pennsylvania State University, which, at $276 million, has a substantial federal student loan volume. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has assured schools that the Education Department is equipped to handle double the volume within the Direct Loan Program, if necessary.

Pennsylvania’s student-loan agency will cut college grant amounts for the 2008–09 academic year by up to $750 and will offer voluntary buyouts to some of its nonunion employees in an effort to keep the company afloat.

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency will determine the adjusted grant amounts based on a recipient’s college costs, family size, and the number of children from the family enrolled in college. Next year’s awards will range from $2,100 to $3,948, compared to this year’s awards which ranged from $2,500 to $4,700.

The agency expects to save $12.5 million annually with the nonunion buyout agreements, after losing more than $37 million in the nine months leading up to March 31, agency spokesman Keith New said in an Associated Press article, (“Pa. Student-Loan Agency to Cut Aid, Offer Employee Buyouts,” April 24, 2008).

During the same period last year, the agency earned nearly $113 million in operating income.

Employees eligible for buyouts will receive two weeks’ pay for each year of service at the agency for up to 16 weeks. The number of buyouts needed to steady the company has yet to be determined and is dependent on the salaries of departing employees.

The agency, which New said has “never before experienced more difficult or severe economic conditions,” will only impose layoffs as a last resort.

by Deepak Kulkarni
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After you graduate from college, you are beginning on your brand new life and career. However, six months later, you are hit with the reality of just how much debt you steadily gained while going to college. As you go through each paper of all the student loans you have received throughout the years, you become overwhelmed. You are possibly thinking how could I ever afford these with what I make? If you find troubles, it might be the perfect moment to consider calling student loan consolidation experts.

Sometimes the school you attend may recommend the right debt consolidation companies for you to approach for your student debt consolidation loan. However, you can have your federal school loan consolidated only if you have stopped attending school, have not missed any payments and your loan is of a sum of at least $10,000. If your federal school loan does not meet one of these requirements, then you can’t opt for student loan debt consolidation.

Soon after you send your application, the Department of Education will send out your student aid report (SAR) with all the information you provided as well as the information the school takes into consideration. If they ask for additional information, don’t wait to send it to them. Doing so could prevent you from getting aid of any type. How much you’ll be able to take out will depend on your information, the school and the budget they assume for the academic year.

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With an unsubsidized loan, the loan will be charged interest during the entire course of your school career. If the interest is left unpaid, it is then added to the principle amount of the loan. This tends to increase the amount you need to pay, as well as the time it will take you to pay off the loan.

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In order to make it easier for to help repaying student loans after graduating from college, the first step you seriously consider refinancing student loans and to consolidate your student loans into a single loan account. Through this, you will be able to avoid paying a lot of excessive money from all your various loans different interest rates. Having one single loan to deal with will also allow you to better manage your money and your loans.

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A loan given to a student to help him pay for higher education is termed as Student Loan. In the United States, these loans are usually given by the government.

The Higher education loans differ from grants and scholarships. A student loan has to be repaid by the student after completion of his studies while grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid. Normally a student loan can be in the form of a federal loan that is given to a student or as a private loan that is given to the student and the student’s parents.

The Federal student loans are made directly to the students. They are given to supplement the student’s personal and family resources. A federal student loan can be subsidized or unsubsidized depending on the financial need of the students. Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans are guaranteed by the United States Department of Education either directly or through guarantee agencies. Nearly all students are eligible for federal student loans which have grace period of six months. Subsidized federal student loans are given to students who have to prove their financial need for the loans. While in an unsubsidized student loan, the government does not pay the interest amount on the loan. The interest is allowed to accrue during the college and the student must pay after completion of studies.

The Parents have an option of borrowing money to cover the educational expenses of higher education. This type of loan is called Parent Loan of Undergraduate Student. In this type of loan, no grace period is provided and payments start as soon as the loan is disbursed.

The Private Student Loan is loan that is extended by banks and other financial institutions directly to the student. A Private Student Loan has a grace period of six months and payments have to be made after completion of the studies. There are occasions when the grace period is extended up to 12 months and this is subject to approval by the lending authority. Most private loan programs are tied to one or more financial indices such as the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate or the BBA LIBOR rate plus an overhead charge. This type loan invariably has a one time origination fee which depends upon the loan amount.

By Nigel Kerry