As financial aid officials, students, families and lenders continue to experience the peak period for higher education enrollment, the combined efforts of policymakers, schools, and lenders appear to have averted what could have become a devastating college access crisis for California students.

During the past year, over 100 lenders exited the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and many others restricted lending to students at certain schools. These developments, resulting from credit market turmoil and $40 billion in cuts to the FFEL by Congress, led to widespread concern that students would have limited ability to finance their educations this fall.