The federal government has reduced its grant to Radcliffe's National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) program for '78-'79 by about 45 per cent, because the Financial Aid Office underspent NDSL funds in '76-'77, leaving a $51,000 surplus, Martha C. Lyman, acting director of financial aid, said yesterday.

The cut in funds, from $137,000 this year to $74,000 next year, will require Radcliffe to reduce the number of NDSL loans it can grant to women next year, Lyman said.

The reduction will not affect Harvard students because Harvard and Radcliffe apply separately for their grants. The Financial Aid Office did not underspend Harvard's NDSL funds, which will increase slightly next year.

Lyman said she does not know how many Radcliffe students the cut in funds will affect.

Seamus P. Malin '62, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid, was the director of financial aid when the underspending occured. Malin was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Inefficiency

The underspending of NDSL funds "should never happen," Burton I. Wolfman, administrative dean of Radcliffe, said yesterday.

The large surplus "does seem like inefficiency," Lyman said, adding that she does not know under what circumstances the underspending took place.

Radcliffe matches one-ninth of the NDSL funds the government allots and also supplements the money with repaid NDSL loans.

Underspending occurs if the director of financial aid overestimates the amount of students who are going to borrow and/or underestimates the rate of repayment of loans.

Tracking

Lyman said it is difficult to "keep on top of the figures." "The situation seems to change from moment to moment," Lyman added.

Lyman had some good news for Radcliffe, however. Radcliffe's Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant, another financial aid program, will increase by $4,000, while Harvard will receive $5,000 less than this year, Lyman said.