Student Lenders, Fighting to Survive, Spend Millions to Lobby Congress

Between January 1, 2008, and the end of June 2009, the top 20 participants in the federal bank-based loan program spent nearly $14-million lobbying the federal government, some $3.1-million of it in the first half of this year alone. At the same time, they've showered members of the Congressional education committees with close to $600,000 in donations in an effort to persuade Congress to reject President Obama's plan to end bank-based student lending.

Full-text post by Kelly Field is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/28/09.

Students at For-Profit Colleges Are Most Likely to Default on Loans, Report Says

Students at for-profit colleges and universities are more likely than students at private and public institutions to default on federal student loans, according to a report issued today by the Government Accountability Office. The report even says some proprietary colleges help students obtain high-school diplomas from diploma mills to become eligible for federal aid.

Full-text post by Libby Nelson is available via The Choricle of Higher Education, 9/21/09.

With Funds Tight, College Students Get Creative

E-mail pleas, peer lending, and a new pay-for-grades site are supplementing traditional college funding plans.

Full-text article by Dan Macsai is available via BusinessWeek, 12.30.08.