As Congress gears up to vote once again on the bailout plan for Wall Street, economists are wary of how the vote will affect student loans.

If it passes, Congress might have to look at the nation’s budget and decide what can be cut, according to J.C. Poindexter, an associate professor of finance and economics.

“Things are up in the air with Congress,” he said. “It’s hard to make a prediction about what they’ll be willing to do. Everything could be on the table for chopping. Depending on the size of the projected defecit, Congress could be looking to cut [in] all areas.”

He said Congress usually puts a priority on loans, most of which are government funded, to ensure students have access to them.

Since the proposed bailout is unprecedented in the modern economy, economists like Poindexter and Geoffrey Benson, a professor of agricultural and resource economics, say the state of government funding is uncertain.

“I’d need a crystal ball to know whether there’s going to be any kind of dramatic change in those programs,” Poindexter said. “This is a very unusual situation. The magnitude of bailout expenses that are being considered and the potential for additional necessary bailouts really are different from what we’ve experienced in the past.”

Benson echoed the uncertain fate of the economy and, in turn, of student loans.

“Anybody who says they know what’s going to happen next week, next month, I’d be skeptical to what they’re saying,” he said.

But Julie Rice-Mallette, director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said students have nothing to worry about — at least when it comes to access to college loans.

“We’re not expecting the Federal government to change,” she said. “We expect the loans to still be available to students this year and next year.”

She said only a few lenders have backed out of the Stafford loan — the federal loan given through banks and lenders that ensures banks can receive payments even if students default.

As lenders aren’t able to borrow from banks, other lenders will likely follow suit, according to Cedric Barksdale, senior assistant director of financial aid.

“Before these last two weeks, lenders were already dropping out of the program because they weren’t able to fund their loans from banks,” he said.

And banks are becoming less willing to lend out large loans, even to other lenders, according to Doug Pearce, professor and head of the Department of Economics.

As a preventative measure, the office enrolled at the beginning of the semester in a Federal Direct loans program, in which loans bypass conventional lenders and come directly from the Federal government.

“The loan amounts are still there, and the interest rates have not changed,” she said.

The maximum amount students can borrow from Stafford loans just increased in July, Barksdale said. Freshmen and sophomore loans increased $1,000 each — the maximum for freshmen is now $4,500, and it’s $5,500 for sophomores and junior and senior loans increased from $2,000 to $7,500.

What most lenders have gradually started to do over the past year, she said, is cut borrower benefits, like exemptions from the origination fee (3 percent of the total loan) and the insurance guarantee fee (1 percent of the total loan), as well as payment cuts for those who pay on time for 48 months.

“During good years where the economy was flourishing, the government was giving lenders benefits to participate in the [Stafford loan] program, and the lenders passed those on as borrower benefits,” Rice-Mallette said. “Now the Federal government is not offering those incentives to lenders anymore, and the lenders are pulling back on those incentives to borrowers.”

So if a senior is using a lender who has started charging origination and insurance guarantee fees, the net dispersement of a $5,500 loan would be $5,355.

The College Foundation of North Carolina is the only N.C. State-endorsed lender that hasn’t reduced its borrower benefits, Rice-Mallette said.

And she said those who are borrowing from lenders that have failed or are changing management, like Wachovia, don’t need to worry — this situation has happened before, and available funds remained the same.

“At this point, we have no reason to believe loans would change,” she said. “We expect Wachovia, whether it’s called Wachovia or not, will continue to make loans.”

Barksdale said that, in following with past lender consolidation, lenders who are forced to end their business are bought up by other lenders or banks — existing loans included.

But students are still worried.

Rice-Mallette said a student came in on Monday to ask about the status of her loan, which is with Wachovia.

“She wanted to get an increase from Wachovia,” Rice-Mallette said. “Our statement to her was that we’re considering it business as usual. We have no indication that Wachovia is changing its practice from a federal loan perspective.”

The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is still certifying loans from Wachovia.

Unlike the economists, Rice-Mallette said she does not foresee a shortage of Stafford or Federal Direct loans.

“That was one of the things that concerned the Federal government,” she said. “It wanted to make sure its loan capital on hand as the economy tightened up. It’s confident it has the resources to make loans.”