According to John T. Weir, Consolidation Assistance Program senior vice president, this new service makes the already attractive Federal Consolidation Loan Program even more favorable for borrowers. "In addition to making the application process as easy as possible, our electronic signature service eliminates a lot of paperwork for everyone involved in the student loan consolidation process -- and it's a very secure means for handling these loans."

David Harmon, Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. chief marketing and sales officer agreed. "Today's Web-savvy customers expect advanced technology and a high level of customer service. Great Lakes is pleased to provide this service to Consolidation Assistance Program student and parent borrowers."

From the applicants' standpoint, loans may now be processed faster, which allows them to begin saving sooner by locking in one of the lowest current student loan consolidation interest rates, as low as 2.25%.

"We are continuously improving and making our application process more convenient for our customers," said Weir. "Now, with online e-signature they can apply for consolidation in a simple one step electronic process."

The electronic signature utilizes the Department of Education guidelines on electronic signature and the PIN authentication service offered by NCS Pearson's Student Authentication Network (STAN). For more information about Consolidation Assistance Program or to apply online for a Federal Consolidation Loan using the new e-signature service go to www.mycaploan.com. For information about Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. go to www.glhec.org.

Consolidation Assistance Program is an affiliate company of Education Lending Group Inc. (OTCBB:EDLG). Education Lending Group markets products, services and solutions to the Federal Guaranteed Student Loan Industry. The company is a full service provider of financial aid products to students, parents and schools. This includes, but is not limited to, student financial aid counseling, debt management, loan origination, loan servicing management and secondary market loan acquisition services.

Great Lakes Higher Education Corp.'s affiliated group of companies is one of the nation's largest integrated providers of student loan services. The affiliated group currently interacts with some 2,300 schools and 1,200 lenders in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group's affiliated guarantor, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp., is the designated guarantor for Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group holds guarantees on $15 billion in FFEL program loans and services student loans with an aggregate outstanding balance of more than $8.7 billion for approximately 1,100,000 borrowers. Great Lakes is headquartered in Madison, Wis., and has operating centers in Columbus, Ohio, and St. Paul, Minn., and customer service and development sites in Eau Claire and Boscobel, Wis., and Oakbrook, Ill. Great Lakes' mission is assurance of cost-effective enablement of educational access.