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Federal          Student Loan Programs Data Book  -  FY 1997-FY 2000Introduction
      CONTENTS    < BACK    NEXT >   Introduction The federal student      financial assistance programs are administered by the Federal Student Aid      (FSA) office within the U.S. Department of Education. These programs provide      funds to help students meet postsecondary education costs. Often referred      to as "Title IV programs" because the authorizing legislation is     written in Title IV of the Higher Education Act, FSA programs include loans,      grants, and work-study programs. FSA programs include Federal Pell Grants,      Federal Perkins Loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG),      the Federal Work-Study Program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program,      and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP). The Data Book      focuses on two of the FSA programs, the FFEL program and the FDLP. These two      programs are of particular interest because they are structured as entitlement      programs. Under the FFEL program, the entitlements accrue to lenders and guaranty      agencies, while under the FDLP, entitlements accrue to individual borrowers.      This special status as an entitlement program explains some of the spectacular      growth of theFFEL      program and the FDLP. While the FFEL      program began in FY 1966 and the FDLP began in FY 1994, both programs have      grown rapidly. The quantitative data that have been assembled in the Data      Bookreflect this growth and are of interest to state officials, Congress,      federal officials, postsecondary educational institutions, guaranty agencies,      lenders, parents, students, researchers, and policymakers. The FFEL program      was known formerly as the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program. The GSL program,      originally authorized in the Higher Education Act of 1965, empowered state      and private nonprofit agencies to guarantee student loans and to establish      loan insurance for lenders who did not have access to state or private nonprofit      agencies. The GSL program, renamed the FFEL program in the Higher Education      Amendments of 1992, has experienced enormous growth. Cumulative loan volume      increased from $102 billion and48      million loans at the end of FY 1989 to $317 billion and 110 million loans      guaranteed at the end of FY 2000. The Federal Direct      Loan Demonstration Program was first authorized by the Higher Education Amendments      of 1992 as a pilot program. This program, which eventually became the FDLP,      was designed to improve the delivery of loans to postsecondary education students      in need of financial assistance. The FDLP, authorized by the Student Loan      Reform Act of 1993 as part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993, has      grown rapidly in the short time it has been operational. For example, during      FY 1995, FDLP's first full fiscal year of activity, the program committed     $5.1 billion through 1.3 million loans. By FY 2000, FDLP loan volume increased      more than 130 percent to $11.8 billion, while the number of loans more than      doubled to 3.1 million. In order to understand      the data presented in this publication, it is important to know that the FFEL      program and the FDLP comprise the same loan program types: the Federal Stafford      Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) and Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students      (PLUS) loans. The Stafford Subsidized Loan is awarded on the basis of the      borrower's financial need, while the Stafford Unsubsidized Loan is not     based on need. The PLUS loan is designed for parents who take out loans on      behalf of dependent students. In addition, both the FFEL program and FDLP      offer Consolidation loans. It is important to note that the Supplemental Loan      to Students (SLS) program, established in 1981 under the FFEL program, was      replaced by the FFEL Stafford Unsubsidized loan program in FY 1994. Thus,      the SLS program, while previously a component of the FFEL program, has never      been a component of the FDLP. Although the      FFEL program and the FDLP share similar program components, each disburses      funds differently. FFEL program loans are made through private lenders while      FDLP loans are disbursed directly from the U.S. government to postsecondary      institutions. Eligible postsecondary institutions may choose to provide borrowers      access to federally supported loans through the FFEL program or the FDLP,but not      both. Recent legislative      activity has had an effect on borrower repayment activity for FFEL program      and FDLP loans. For example, the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 lengthened      the amount of time before a loan falls into default, extended repayment options      for borrowers with large debt amounts, and instituted new loan forgiveness      provisions for borrowers who become teachers. Interested readers are encouraged      to reference the legislative history section in appendix II of this book for      additional information. Data Organization The data assembled      for this edition of the Data Book are from various sources. The primary source      is the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, National      Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), a live database of loan records. Other data      have been assembled from data collected through the ED Form 1189, ED Form      1130, ED Form 799, Direct Loan/Loan Origination System, U.S. Department of      Treasury, Sallie Mae Annual Report, and Financial Partners Channel records. It is important      to note that data for the FDLP are limited to seven fiscal years (FY 1994-FY      2000). All other loan programs are clearly marked to indicate the time period      in which the program was operational. Where data is not available, a notation      appears in the footnote. Loan volume commitments      (dollars and loans) represent commitments by guaranty agencies for the FFEL      program. For the FDLP, loan volume commitments (dollars and loans) are listed      by state. The publication presents FFEL program and FDLP data by program component      (loan program type) and as a FFEL program total or FDLP total. Electronic      copies of the data presented in these tables will be available through the      Web site at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/ppi.html. The Office of      Policy, Planning and Innovation publishes data on other Title IV programs.      Information on the Pell Grant Program can be found in the Title IV/Federal      Pell Grant Program End of the Year Report and information on the campus-based      programs (Perkins Loans, Federal Work-Study, and the SEOG program) can be      found in theFederal Campus Based Programs Data Books. Both documents      are available through the website at www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Data/index.html Summary Between FY 1997      and FY 2000, loan volume commitments for the FFEL program and FDLP grew 15      percent from $32.5 billion to $37.5 billion. As illustrated in figure 1, much      of this increase occurred between FY 1999 and FY 2000, when combined loan      volume commitments jumped by more than $3 billion. From FY 1997 to FY 2000,      FFEL program commitments grew from $21.7 billion to $25.7 billion, while FDLP      volume grew from $10.9 billion to $11.8 billion. Data Book      Organization The Loan Programs      Data Book is organized to help readers who want summary information and/or      detailed program information. The core of the volume consists of 64 tables,      text summarizing highlights of the data in each table, and graphs or charts,      as required to assist readers. This edition also contains a legislative history      of the FFEL program and FDLP and a glossary of nearly 100 terms. The 64 tables      and companion text are organized into four sections:


- Part       I -- FFEL Program and FDLP Summary Information (Tables 1-4)
- Part       II -- FFEL Program and FDLP Loan Volume Commitments (Tables 5-41)
- Part       III -- FDLP and FFEL Program Dollars Outstanding and Guaranty Agency       Characteristics (Tables 42-47b)
- Part       IV -- FFEL Program and FDLP Defaults and Collections (Tables 48-64)
- Part       V -- Appendices

The information      contained in each table is arranged in the following sequence:


- Text        summarizing data highlights
- Table        of data

When data are      available for FFEL programs in existence prior to FY 1990, the entire data      set is presented in a corresponding table that appears in Appendix I. Since      some FFEL programs began more than 35 years ago, this cumulative data serves      as a historical accounting of FFEL program activity. Introduction
      CONTENTS    < BACK    NEXT >Federal Student          Loan Programs Data Book  -  FY 1997-FY 2000