RESTON, Va., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In response to proposals
in Washington to cut the private sector student lending program, financial
aid administrators at colleges and universities across the country continue
to voice their support of the Federal Family Education Loan Program
(FFELP). These comments from financial aid officials in support of the
private sector student lending program echo those issued in similar news
releases by Sallie Mae. The FFELP currently serves 80 percent of all
students who borrow to pay for college and plays a crucial role in the
delivery of aid and benefits to students and parents.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
Financial aid and school officials continue to speak out in support of
the FFELP and called on Congress to support the private sector:
" ... the Federal Family Education Loan Program has continued to pursue
and offer competitive rates within regulatory requirements on student loans
so families will not be burdened with unmanageable debt. Through an array
of borrower benefits, fee and interest reductions established by lenders,
student borrowers have been able to save hundreds of dollars over the life
of their guaranteed student loans. At the University of California, Los
Angeles, we have been able to provide attractive loan terms via our Federal
Family Education Loan Program partners which have helped thousands of
students to meet their educational goals, combined with an efficient and
unbureaucratic process which insures a transparent, seamless and timely
disbursement of funds."
Ronald W. Johnson, Director of Financial Aid
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, Calif.
"The competition provided by the dual existence of the Direct and FFEL
program has been good for all students. Since the creation of the Direct
Loan Program, private lenders providing funds for the FFEL program have
continued to find new benefits to students that have decreased the overall
amount that students have to repay and have greatly enhanced their default
prevention efforts."
Harold Whitis, Associate Director of Financial Aid
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas
As quoted in The University Star, "Proposed budget plan cuts trillions
from lending program," February 2007
http://star.txstate.edu/content/view/2788/
"Right now we already get reductions in student loan payments because
there's naturally competition between hundreds of banks and lenders. This
natural competition drives the loan costs down for the student, and we like
that; private companies also produce responses quickly and offer benefits
that can't be found through the Direct Loan program."
Vincent De Anda, Financial Aid Director
University of California, San Diego
As quoted in UCSD Guardian, "Senate Bill Would Drop Interest Rates,"
February 2007
http://www.ucsdguardian.org/cgi-bin/print?param=news_2007_02_26_02
"Our students benefit greatly from reduced loan rates, state-of-the-art
customer service and supplemental debt counseling and default management
programs provided by private lenders."
Guy. A. Fisher, Director of Financial Aid
Bethel College
Mishawaka, Ind.
"Offering a choice has dramatically increased the competition to
provide better borrower benefits, superior service, default aversion
efforts, and increases in investment in technology and delivery methods. I
believe my students are better served by the FFELP industry than they would
ever be with Direct Lending where student complaints and reconciliation
issues are rampant."
Patricia M. Chaplin, Director, Scholarship and Financial Aid
Marygrove College
Detroit, Mich.
"Without the FFELP program at our institution we would not be able to
see the fruition of our community's students achieving the dream of
attending a post-secondary institution. Our lenders provide our institution
with resources such as tools for recruitment and retention and also provide
top customer services to our students by being available to them at all
times. It's a win-win all around."
Lisa L. Seale, Office of Financial Aid
Arizona Western College
Yuma, Ariz.
"The current competitive balance between the two programs and the broad
marketplace choice available to institutions has resulted in generous
borrower benefits that reduce the cost of loans, dramatically improved loan
servicing, and increased investments in technology to meet the changing
needs of today's college campus."
John E. Shelton, Dean of Financial Aid
Marian College
Indianapolis, Ind.
"Artistic Beauty Colleges relies heavily on our FFELP lenders to
provide quality service and choices to our students. We find the
availability of our local lender representatives to be most helpful in
assisting us to meet our student's needs and to resolve any difficulties
quickly and efficiently. They provide great tools for the students and for
the schools and I would consider it a great loss if that were to be
replaced by direct lending."
Catherine E. Ivie, Corporate Financial Aid Director
Artistic Beauty Colleges-REGIS
Tucson, Ariz.
To access this news release as well as previous news releases including
higher education institution testimonials in support of the FFELP, please
visit http://www.salliemae.com/about/news_info/newsreleases/.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the
nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The
company manages $142 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $15 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and assists
more than 7.5 million members with automatic savings through rebates on
everyday purchases. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management
services as well as business and technical products to a range of business
clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors,
and state and federal agencies. More information is available at
http://www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not
sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
SOURCE Sallie Mae
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.salliemae.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk
photodesk@prnewswire.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/827187.html/
CONTACT:
Tom Joyce of Sallie Mae, +1-703-984-5610,
tom.joyce@salliemae.com
|
