The debate on student loan reform moves into overdrive this week as the House Education and Labor Committee holds 2 high-profile hearings.
On Wednesday, May 20, at 10 a.m., Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is slated to testify on the Administration’s requested budget for the Education Department as well as its overall plans for revamping U.S. education. Regarding higher education, Duncan will likely reinforce the Administration’s argument for eliminating the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) in favor of Direct Lending by July 1, 2010, and respond to questions from committee members.
On Thursday, May 21, at 10:00 a.m., a hearing by the same committee titled “Increasing Student Aid through Loan Reform” will discuss in depth the proposed move from FFELP to Direct Lending. A range of interested parties will be contributing perspectives:
To keep up with the action, you can view the hearings via live webcast on the committee’s site.
And be sure to check back for my take on the hearings and what they mean for the future of borrowers’ rights to education debt management, no matter the source of the loan funds.
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 22, 2009 at 02:39 PM EST
Thanks for your comment. ASA envisions an evolving role for the guarantor in the federal student loan program. Here’s more information about our borrower-centric model and the proposed legislation.
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 22, 2009 at 02:05 PM EST
Will ASA be posturing to administer accounts if there is a move away from FFELP to Direct Lending? If not, what will happen to ASA?
Posted by Shelly's blog on May 21, 2009 at 07:02 PM EST
Note that comments will be posted after content review.
* All fields are required.
Shelley Saunders
Vice President, Strategic Services
In her current role as American Student Assistance’s vice president of Strategic Services, Shelley Saunders serves as the organization’s primary contact for Congress, as well as for national organizations such as the American Council on Education, the American Association for State Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Student Loan Administrators (NASLA), and others. Her main focus is to educate the public policy making community on the positive results American Student Assistance has realized through its focus on student loan borrower financial Wellness.
In her 12-year career at American Student Assistance, Saunders has played an integral role in several of the organization’s global projects, including designing a new client-server based life-of-the-loan processing system and developing corporate strategy and tactics. She most recently held the position of vice president of Borrower Services.
Saunders has appeared on numerous Clear Channel radio broadcasts in the Washington, D.C. area. Her areas of expertise include the public purpose role of federal student loan administrators, as well as general facts about student loan origination and repayment.
Subscribe to American Student Assistance’s RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to get our news and blog entries delivered directly to your desktop!
If you don’t have one already installed on you computer, here are some of the more popular options to download one for FREE:
For PC only
RssReader (http://www.rssreader.com)
Feed reader (http://www.feedreader.com/)
For Mac only
NetNewsWire (http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/)
NewsFire (http://www.newsfirerss.com/)
icon next to the topic that interests you.For example, you may already have an RSS Reader built into an existing homepage such as the popular examples below:
Close Window
Close Window