A small decline in interest rates on federal loans for next school year is the first in five years. It comes amid turmoil in student loan and financial aid programs.

There’s one small bit of good news for college students heading to campus in the fall who are borrowing to fund their education: The rates on new federal loans will fall, though ever so slightly.

The modest drop, announced by the federal Education Department on May 30, was the first in five years and translates into slightly less interest paid on money borrowed for college.

Specifically, the rate on loans for undergraduate students fell to 6.39 percent from 6.53 percent this year. The rate applies both to loans that are based on financial need, known as subsidized loans, and to those that aren’t. (With subsidized loans, students don’t have to pay interest on the debt while they attend college.)

On a loan of $5,500,