Contractual Maturity

No definition available.

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- Definition

Ownership Interest Percentage

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	slm_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The average effective interest rate during the reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=119993939&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) of the credit facility.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(f))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120395691&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Reflects the total carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of debt having initial terms less than one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(19)(a))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
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-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(16)(a)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120400017&loc=d3e572229-122910

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(13))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120398452&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermDebtLineItems
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Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Weighted average interest rate of short-term debt outstanding calculated at point in time.

+ References

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

For the form of debt having an initial term of less than one year or less than the normal operating cycle, if longer, average borrowings during the period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

For the form of debt having an initial term of less than one year or less than the normal operating cycle, if longer, maximum month-end borrowings during the period.

+ References

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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Period Type:

- Details

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Borrowings - Short Term Borrowings (Details) - USD ($)		12 Months Ended
Borrowings - Short Term Borrowings (Details) - USD ($)	Feb. 20, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Feb. 17, 2021	Feb. 19, 2020
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Short-Term		$ 0	$ 289,230,000
Maximum outstanding at any month end		289,230,000	297,800,000
Borrowing limit increase		2,000,000,000
Secured Borrowing Facility
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Short-Term		$ 0	$ 289,230,000
Contractual maturity related to ABCP facility		2 years
Weighted Average Interest Rate		0.00%	1.74%
Average Balance		$ 45,820,000	$ 102,639,000
Weighted Average Interest Rate		24.99%	4.91%
Commercial Paper \| Secured Borrowing Facility
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Private education loan funding	$ 750,000,000				$ 2,000,000,000
Ownership interest percentage	100.00%
Short-Term		$ 0	$ 289,000,000
Commercial Paper \| Secured Borrowing Facility \| Subsequent Event
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Private education loan funding				$ 2,000,000,000