NIGP 94965: Scholar Loan

NIGP 94965 Scholar Loan, an Item code, covers educational loan products and lender services that state and local governments—primarily higher-education institutions—solicit to support student financing options. Under this code, universities identify and vet private educational loan providers for inclusion on curated lender lists offered to their student populations, evaluating loan terms, repayment flexibility, borrower eligibility criteria, customer service infrastructure, and compliance commitments. The University of Texas at Austin, a major public research institution, represents the primary issuing-body type for this code: four-year universities managing financial aid programs and seeking to expand borrowing options beyond federal loan programs for undergraduate and graduate students.

The University of Texas at Austin posted a Request for Information (RFI) on April 3, 2026, with a response deadline of April 27, 2026, to identify private educational loan lenders meeting specific mandatory criteria—no origination or disbursement fees, interest rates of 7.99% or lower at publication, deferment and forbearance options, maintained borrower services centers, and full electronic processing for applications and disbursements. The RFI explicitly stated it was a non-binding information-gathering exercise with no award value, contract commitment, or compensation to respondents; the University retained sole discretion to remove lenders from its published list at any time. This represents current activity in Texas higher education procurement, though the source contains no other recent opportunities under this code to indicate broader geographic spread or repeat-buyer patterns across other states or institutions.