"With Congress poised to take up legislation to overhaul the student-loan system as early as next week, lenders and guarantors are furiously circulating alternatives to President Obama's plan to end bank-based lending," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "It is unclear whether lawmakers will incorporate any of the ideas into bills being crafted in education committees in both chambers of Congress, and some lenders and guarantors seem resigned to the end of guaranteed lending. Still, optimists say lawmakers are receptive to the argument that ending bank-based lending would cost states thousands of jobs during an economic downturn, and guarantors say Congress is open to the idea of setting aside a pool of money for 'borrower services,' such as default prevention and financial literacy. To date, the most-comprehensive proposals have been offered by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators; Sallie Mae, the nation's largest student lender; and the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation, a state-based nonprofit group."