The third of a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration, this module offers a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act to novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel. It teaches the administrator to understand steps taken by Congress in enacting legislation, understand steps taken by the Department of Education in drafting and implementing regulations, read the Federal Register (understand the format used and identify the types of regulations and notices which appear), and distinguish between proposed changes in regulations and those regulations currently in effect. A pre-test, post-test, glossary, and acronyms are provided. Module 3 focuses on the following: (1) the legislative and funding process (introduction of a bill, committee hearings on a bill, reporting on a bill, floor and conference activity, numbering system and effective dates for legislation, cycle of legislative and funding activity, and budget and appropriations) and (2) regulations (how and when regulations are drafted, the regulatory process, and reading and understanding regulations). An appendix offers current regulations for Title IV student assistance programs as of June 1988. Contains four references. (SM)