Federal Student Aid has completed final negotiations with the guaranty agencies selected to submit proposals under the U.S. Department of Education's Voluntary Flexible Agreement (VFA) initiative. The last three agreements have been signed by Secretary of Education Rod Paige and are presently being implemented within the agencies and the FSA. Posted below, for your information, the agencies that are implementing VFAs are:

• American Student Assistance
• California Student Aid Commission
• Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation
• Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation

A VFA incorporates and modifies the guaranty agreements under section 428 (b) and (c) of the HEA, and is intended to enhance program integrity, increase cost efficiencies, and improve the availability and delivery of student financial aid. Each VFA will be developed by the Secretary, in consultation with the agency, on a case-by-case basis, and in accordance with the HEA. Additional Information on VFA participants can be found on one of the links provided below:

Voluntary Flexible Agreements (VFA) Notice [PDF - 2 pages]

Interim Report to Congress, January 2002 [Word - 34 pages]

Final Report to Congress, June 2003 [Word - 40 pages]

GA and Lender Questions [Word - 2 pages]

Agreements:

American Student Assistance Final Agreement [PDF - 9 pages]

California Student Aid Commission Final Agreement [PDF - 7 pages]

Great Lakes Final Agreement [PDF - 10 pages]

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation Final Agreement [PDF - 8 pages]

User Guides:

VFA GA Users Guide: Financial Partners Addendum [Word - 29 pages]

VFA GA Users Guide: ASA [PDF - 35 pages]

VFA GA Users Guide: CSAC [PDF - 31 pages]

VFA GA Users Guide: Great Lakes [PDF - 37 pages]

VFA GA Users Guide: Texas [PDF - 39 pages]