March 19, 1999

Panelists Selected for Study on New Ways to Set Interest Rates on Student Loans

By STEPHEN BURD

The U.S. Education Department and the General Accounting Office last month announced their appointments to a panel that will study new ways to set interest rates for guaranteed student loans.

The formula for calculating the interest on student loans is now based on the rate of 91-day Treasury bills. But over the last year, lenders have pressed Congress to base the formula instead on the index used for commercial paper, which is the