Washington — As the exodus of lenders from the guaranteed-student-loan program continues, the chairman of the Senate education committee is urging colleges to sign up for direct lending, just in case.

In a letter sent today to the American Council on Education, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, encouraged colleges to enroll in the direct-loan program “as a backup for their students” in the event that guaranteed loans become less available.

To date, more than 50 lenders have either suspended student-loan originations or left the guaranteed-loan program altogether. Those lenders were responsible for originating 13 percent of the Stafford and PLUS loan volume and 67 percent of the consolidation loan volume in the 2006 academic year.

Several colleges have already signed up for direct lending, with a few large institutions, including Pennsylvania State University, switching to direct lending completely. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has said her department has the capability to double the volume of the direct-loan program, if necessary.

Mr. Kennedy also asked the council to work with its member institutions to ensure that students are exhausting their federal loan eligibility before taking out private loans. —Kelly Field