Student Loan Corporation Remains Committed to Federal Student Lending
Posted by admin on March 20th, 2009
The Student Loan Corporation (SLC) reiterated today its commitment to the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and to its mission of providing schools, students, and families with affordable, reliable access to higher education.
SLC reaffirmed its dedication in light of the Administration’s recently released fiscal year 2010 budget outline. The outline includes a proposal to provide federal student loans solely through the government’s Direct Lending Program as early as July 2010. Congress will debate this proposal in the coming weeks to define the scope of any legislation pertaining to how federal student loans are provided in the U.S.
“Although we share the Administration’s desire to make education financing more affordable and accessible to students and their families, schools and borrowers will not enjoy the many critical benefits of competition without private sector involvement in student loan lending,” said Michael Reardon, Chairman, President and CEO of SLC. “In addition, eliminating the FFEL Program would limit choice for students and families, and would be less efficient and more costly to taxpayers at a time when the nation is experiencing severe economic stress.”
For over 40 years, the FFEL Program participants, including SLC, have provided schools, students and families with a choice of lenders as well as innovative products and services, such as easy-to-use online applications, tools and resources; financial literacy programs; default prevention services; and a variety of incentives to lower consumers’ total borrowing costs. And when it comes to efficient service, competition has driven enhanced levels of customer satisfaction, as a result of responsiveness, personal attention and on-campus support. These attributes have led 73% of higher education institutions to choose the FFEL Program over the government’s Direct Lending Program. For more information on this topic, please go to www.faaonline.com.
Mr. Reardon concluded, “We continue to engage in active dialogue with government leaders to support a federal loan program that leverages the best characteristics of the public and private sectors. We look forward to continuing to work closely with government officials and the higher education community in shaping the future of student lending.”
SLC has been dedicated to providing essential education financing to schools across the country for over 50 years. The Company continues to provide both federal and private student loans to schools nationwide, originating $5.7 billion in FFEL Program loans and $1.8 billion in private CitiAssist® Loans in 2008.
