Category Archives: Our Blog

Barriers to College Completion for Low-Income Students

Posted on January 9, 2013

A recent New York Times article focuses on the low college entry and completion rates for lower-income students.  Greg Duncan, an economist at the University of California, Irvine summarizes these troubling trends in the article:  “Everyone wants to think of … Continue reading →

Default, Loan Consolidation and IBR

Posted on December 20, 2012

For a number of years, we have been writing about the problems facing borrowers trying to consolidate their loans out of default and into Income Based Repayment (IBR).  The Department of Education was placing borrowers in ICR even if they … Continue reading →

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A Look Back at 2012

Posted on December 19, 2012

2012 is almost over and it’s time for our annual “look back” at the year that was.  Student loan issues were a hot topic this year.  Much of the attention centered on legislation this summer that temporarily prevented student loan interest … Continue reading →

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New and Improved Department of Education Disability Discharge Process

Posted on November 28, 2012

We have long argued that the Department of Education should tie its standards for student loan disability discharges to Social Security standards.  At last, we are starting to see some progress in this area. Some changes are already in effect, … Continue reading →

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Inequality and Higher Education

Posted on November 8, 2012

Now that the election is over, we hope that policymakers and the Administration will focus on fixing the student aid system.   In order to do this, it is critical to agree on the goals of federal student aid policies. As … Continue reading →

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Giving Financially Distressed Borrowers a Chance (Part 2)

Posted on October 28, 2012

We wrote a few weeks ago about the September 8 New York Times article, “Debt Collectors Cashing in on Student Loans.“  The article explains how student loan servicers and collectors lack incentives to prevent student loan defaults.  Among other reasons, … Continue reading →

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So Much for Open Debate: Chronicle of Higher Education Student Loan Default Rate Event Is Bought and Paid For by Industry

Posted on October 8, 2012

The Department of Education released new student loan default rate information in September and it’s not pretty!  The overall two year cohort default rate increased to 9.1% (FY 2012 data).  This official two year rate requires the Department to track … Continue reading →

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Giving Financially Distressed Borrowers a Chance (Part 1)

Posted on September 23, 2012

A recent New York Times article about student loan debt collectors raises a number of important issues that we will be writing about in a series of blogs. The article explains how student loan servicers and collectors lack incentives to … Continue reading →

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Collection Agency Abuses

Posted on September 5, 2012

The Second Circuit recently issued an important decision that highlights student loan collection agency abuses.  The court found that a collection agency’s notice to a student loan borrower stating “Account Ineligible for Bankruptcy Discharge” was exactly the kind of abusive … Continue reading →

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Stopping Default Rate Manipulation

Posted on August 28, 2012

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s July 2012 report on for-profit higher education contains a wealth of important and shocking information about the for-profit education industry.  Among other themes, the report focuses on the disproportionate default rates in … Continue reading →

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