A: As of July 1, 2010 all federal student loans will be originated from the Department of Education through the Federal Direct Loan Program. All institutions of higher education, students and parents must transition from their current choice of federal loan programs to the Direct Loan Program by that date.

A: You should contact the financial office at your school to get information about the Federal Direct Loan Program. All students will still be required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov to determine federal student aid eligibility but should confer with the financial aid office for the remainder of the process.

A: The changes in federal student aid will impact your ability to borrow future federal education loans through our organization, but will not affect loans already disbursed. If you have specific questions about repayment of your current loans, please contact Customer Service at 800.719.0708 or by e-mail.

A: Under the bill, 100 percent of Direct Loans will be serviced by private lenders and nonprofit student loan agencies. Agencies will compete for contracts to service federal student loans. Under the legislation (see summary below), nonprofit agencies are eligible to apply as servicers. As a nonprofit agency, GSM&R intends to compete for the opportunity to be a servicer.

• Servicing Contracts for State Non-Profits: Non-profit state entities that are not owned or controlled in whole or in part by a for-profit entity and has its principal place of business in that respective state can be eligible for Direct Loan servicing contracts in that state. The nonprofit entity must meet the standards for servicing that apply to other DL servicers. The Secretary may reallocate, increase, reduce or terminate an eligible non-profit servicer's allocation based on the performance of such servicer. (http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2010/lnsafrasummary031910.html)

A: The Organizations' charitable mission is realized by community support for higher education. This is most recognizable through its statewide outreach efforts via the Center for College Planning (CCP) department. Traditionally, CCP has been funded with federal student loan earnings which are reinvested in strong access programs for public benefit. Now that the student loan legislation passed which eliminates the role of private lenders, the Organizations will need to reevaluate its resources, find creative ways to fulfill its educational mission and actively seek grants to ensure that the work continues.

A: There were two changes to student loan repayment. The first is a change to the current income-based repayment (IBR) plan that reduces the cap on monthly payments from 15% of a borrower's discretionary income to 10%. The second change is the creation of loan forgiveness plans for graduates in certain career fields after completion of a pre-determined number of years of service.

A: The student loan legislation allotted money dedicated to increasing the Pell Grant over the next ten years. The maximum grant is currently $5,550.00 for qualified applicants.

A: Contact the school's financial aid office with any questions about the Direct Loan Program and the application process.