The Abusive Student Loan “Debt Relief” Industry
October 14, 2014
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Since we wrote our report on the student loan “debt relief” industry in 2013, we have unfortunately seen this industry grow and engage in even more abusive practices. We summarized our concerns in this presentation that Deanne Loonin gave by skype to the Association f
Continue Reading →Changing the Structure of Student Loan Servicing
October 07, 2014
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Last month, the Department of Education announced new contract terms for its largest student loan servicers. The Department made some important changes, but much more needs to be done. As Ben Miller of New America summarized, the changes address only the finances, not the struct
Continue Reading →The Best of Senator Harkin’s HEA Discussion Draft, Part 2: Restoring Rehabilitation Rights
August 21, 2014
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We wrote in our March 2014 report about the critical importance of giving students more than one chance to succeed in college. The reality is that most students do not follow a straight line from high school to a four-year college to graduation. Many stumble along the way.
Continue Reading →The Best of Senator Harkin’s HEA Discussion Draft: Part 1, Relief for Private Student Loan Borrowers
August 19, 2014
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Senator Harkin released draft proposals for Higher Education Act reauthorization in June. As part of this process, Senator Harkin created an email address to receive feedback by August 29. This was intended to facilitate the submisssion of feedback and suggestions from &l
Continue Reading →Where Can Financially Distressed Borrowers Get Relief?
August 06, 2014
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We wrote an open letter last year to private student lenders urging them to stop making excuses and start helping borrowers. Unfortunately, not much has changed. There have been improvements for newer borrowers. Most new private loan products are better, but let’s not get
Continue Reading →U.S. Senators Demand Information about Federal Student Loan Servicing
July 10, 2014
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We issued a policy brief in June on student loan servicing. We urged the Department of Education not to renew the current servicing contracts. We said that borrowers and taxpayers deserve better than five more years of the same old system. We are sorry to report that
Continue Reading →New Rules for Loan Rehabilitation
June 28, 2014
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We wrote earlier about a number of important changes to the federal student loan program. It took a long time, but it’s now almost July 1, the date when the new rules become effective. There are a number of important changes, including very significant improvements to the loan r
Continue Reading →What Is President Obama Proposing to Do to Make Student Loans More Affordable?
June 16, 2014
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President Obama announced new executive actions last week to address rising student loan debt burdens. The proposed changes to income-based repayment received the most attention. The current Pay As You Earn plan has the most favorable terms for borrowers, but is only available
Continue Reading →Why Won’t the Department of Education Provide Information about Consolidation and Servicer Choice?
May 27, 2014
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We wrote earlier about potential problems with the Department of Education’s new “servicer choice” consolidation application system. At that point, most, but not all borrowers were required to use the new system in order to consolidate with the Direct Loan prog
Continue Reading →What Does “Gainful Employment” Mean?
May 17, 2014
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Comments on the Department of Education’s proposed “gainful employment” regulation are due next Tuesday May 27. This is the Department’s second attempt to define what it means for career education programs at public, nonprofit and for-profit colleges to
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Please understand that we do not provide legal advice about individual cases. This web site includes links to other resources for those who seek individualized legal advice or other help not offered here. This site is for people who already have student loans and want to know more about their options and rights.
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