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President Barack Obama successfully got the Congress to approve and incorporate with the health care package the student loan reform even as opponents complained about it. One of the main conditions of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 did not really have an effect on Ohio State students.

This university has been working diligently on eliminating the role of private banks as middlemen in Federal student loans right from the 1990s. Diane Stemper, director of Student Financial Aid stated that, “Our students will never notice a change whatever in their relationship with our office and in processing their loans”.

Federal student loans are offered as The Federal Family Education Loan Program and Federal Direct loans, both offering the same loans, the only difference being their management.
Private Banks offered direct loans, but they are sponsored by the federal government protecting the banks from default. Obama called the agreement a “sweetheart deal” for the banks at an event.

OSU suggests only Direct loans, that are managed directly by the federal government and Stemper said “It has no effect on Ohio State University as we have this system in place and are using it for a very long time.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the external accounting agency used by the Congress to “score” legislation is, by eliminating the banks, saving around $68 billion over a period of 11 years.

The savings will be used to boost the accessibility of Pell Grants, a type of financial help for poor students. Stemper said for the existing year, there are 13,000 receivers of federal Pell Grants at the university. She said that this reflected the level of financial difficulty faced by families here.

According to the Associated Press, starting from 2013, the highest Pell Grant amount, now set at $5,550 a year per student, will start increasing till it reaches $5,975 in 2017. Obama aims at greater support for Pell Grants which is the best higher education initiative since the G.I. Bill.”

According to Tally Hart, OSU’s senior advisor students from the fourth and fifth grade have enough confidence to go through college knowing well that they will be helped with funds. Even after they graduate, students will immensely benefit from these funds.

Stemper said. Pell grants will ensure that students graduate with a lower loan burden.
According to FinAid.org, a website which offers financial help information, about 75 % of colleges and universities utilize the family education loan program, ending in July. OSU is amid the remaining 25 % of schools whose loans are controlled by the Department of Education all through university economic aid offices.

Though she was not a part of the OSU during this period, she opined that the Federal program is definitely a boost to many schools offering them a streamlined student loan process.
“Many institutions could get funds to students more quickly,” she said. Stemper said apart from Big Ten schools, other schools are finding it difficult to implement the new change law requires.