The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) is a self-financing,

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

state-charted student loan authority created by the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 1982. The authority was created to provide fixed rate

student loans A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...

and operate the Massachusetts

529 plan A 529 plan, also called a Qualified Tuition Program, is a tax-advantaged investment vehicle in the United States designed to encourage saving for the future higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary. In 2017, K–12 public, private ...

U.Fund, launched in 1999, and its prepaid tuition plan U.Plan, launched in 1995. MEFA previously participated in the

Federal Family Education Loan Program The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program was a system of private student loans which were subsidized and guaranteed by the United States federal government. The program issued loans from 1965 until it was ended in 2010. Similar loans ...

and

Stafford Loan A Stafford Loan was a student loan offered from the United States Department of Education to eligible students enrolled in accredited American institutions of higher education to help finance their education. The terms of the loans are described ...

program. In 2018 the Commonwealth announced that starting in 2020 every child born or adopted in Massachusetts would be eligible for a $50 deposit in a MEFA U.Fund 529 plan, in a program called "SeedMA Baby". The program was rebranded to BabySteps before launch following criticism of the name. Loans issued by the authority were previously serviced by

Affiliated Computer Services Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) was a company that provided information technology services as well as business process outsourcing solutions to businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. ACS was based in Dallas, Texa ...

(ACS) and are now serviced by

PHEAA The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA, better known as FedLoan) is a quasi-governmental agency that administers several state-level and national higher education student financial aid programs. History It was created in 196 ...

under its AES brand. ACS was fined $2.4 million by the Massachusetts Attorney General in 2016 for mishandling repayment plans. The authority was previously a member of the National Council of Higher Education Resources before ending its membership following a political dispute.

References

{{reflist Education finance in the United States State agencies of Massachusetts Government agencies established in 1982