Exhibit 5

Marianne M. Keler
General Counsel

                               September 18, 2003

SLM Education Credit Funding LLC
20 East Hemingway Drive
East Providence, Rhode Island 02915

     RE: SLM Education Credit Funding LLC

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I am the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SLM Corporation
and in that capacity have participated in, and/or supervised, the preparation of
that certain Registration Statement (the "Registration Statement") being filed
on Form S-3 by SLM Education Credit Funding LLC, a Delaware limited liability
company (the "Seller"), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"),
relating to the registration of an amount not to exceed $5,000,000,000 of
student loan-backed securities (the "Securities"). The Securities will be issued
from time to time pursuant to indentures to be entered into from time to time
among the applicable Trust, a indenture trustee (the "Indenture Trustee"), and
when applicable, the trustee under the applicable Trust Agreement as the holder
of legal title to the Trust Student Loans on behalf of the Trust (the "Eligible
Lender Trustee").

     In my examination, I or members of my staff have assumed the legal capacity
of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of
all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents
of all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed or photostatic copies
and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents. In making our
examination of documents executed or to be executed by parties other than the
Seller, we have assumed that such parties had or will have the power and
authority, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations
thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action,
corporate or other, and execution and delivery by such parties of such documents
and the validity and binding effect thereof. As to any facts material to the
opinions expressed herein which we have not independently established or
verified, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and
other representatives of the Seller and others.



SLM Funding Corporation
September 18, 2003
Page 2

     Based upon and subject to the foregoing, and subject to the qualification
that I am admitted to the practice of law in the District of Columbia only and
do not purport to be qualified to render an opinion with respect to the laws of
any jurisdiction other than the District of Columbia, I am of the opinion that,
assuming that the Securities have been validly authorized and executed by the
applicable Trustee on behalf of the applicable Trust, the Securities, when
authenticated by the applicable Indenture Trustee, issued in accordance with the
provisions of the applicable Indenture, will constitute valid and binding
obligations of the applicable Trust enforceable in accordance with their terms
and entitled to the benefits of the applicable Indenture, except that
enforceability thereof may be subject to (a) bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect
relating to creditors' rights and (b) general principles of equity (regardless
of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in
equity).

     I consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration
Statement and to the reference to me under the caption "Legal Matters" in the
Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.

                                                           Very truly yours,


                                                           /s/ MARIANNE M. KELER
                                                           ---------------------
                                                             Marianne M. Keler
                                                              General Counsel