A lot of noise has been made recently by the lending community about how unstable credit markets and cuts in federal subsidies may harm its ability to offer student loans (" Government Faces Pressures Over Student Loans ," Politics & Economics, Feb. 16). However, students should rest assured that federal student loans, such as Stafford Loans, will continue to be universally available.

By law, students get federal Stafford Loans without credit checks and at virtually zero risk to the lender because the government reimburses the lender for any loans that default. In fact, well over 1,000 banks continue to participate in the guaranteed loan program, with some banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase announcing a recent expansion of their student-loan program.

Should serious disruptions develop in the guaranteed federal loan program, the Department of Education is required by law to take up the slack. In fact, the Department of Education runs its own Direct Loan program in which any school can participate. Direct loans are managed by the Education Department and, by eliminating the subsidized middlemen, have proved to be a far better deal for the taxpayers while providing the exact same loans to students. The sky is not falling on student loans.