Improving the Assistance Network for Student Loan Borrowers
February 06, 2013
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When we released our “Finding a Way Out” report five years ago, we were extremely concerned about the lack of reliable and affordable resources for financially distressed student loan borrowers. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved despite the increased numbers o
Continue Reading →Default, Loan Consolidation and IBR
December 20, 2012
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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 selected IBR as their preferred payment plan.
Continue Reading →Giving Financially Distressed Borrowers a Chance (Part 2)
October 28, 2012
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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, companies are not p
Continue Reading →So Much for Open Debate: Chronicle of Higher Education Student Loan Default Rate Event Is Bought and Paid For by Industry
October 08, 2012
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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 borrowers for a very short two yea
Continue Reading →Giving Financially Distressed Borrowers a Chance (Part 1)
September 23, 2012
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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 prevent student loan defaults. Among other reas
Continue Reading →Stopping Default Rate Manipulation
August 28, 2012
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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 i
Continue Reading →The Student Loan Default Trap
July 31, 2012
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The Student Loan Default Trap: Why Borrowers Default and What Can Be Done, a new report released on Monday from the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, addresses questions about the causes of default and the effectiveness of programs intended to
Continue Reading →Finally Some Action on Consolidation and Rehabilitation?
May 29, 2012
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We have written a number of posts about ongoing operational problems at the Department of Education. We received some encouraging news this week that some of these problems may be fixed, including: 1. We wrote earlier about problems with borrowers seeking to consolidate out of defau
Continue Reading →Follow-up to Mr. A’s Story
April 23, 2012
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Thanks to all of you who have responded to the story about my client Mr. A. Many of you have asked why Mr. A has not tried rehabilitation or consolidation to get out of default. We have discussed these options with Mr. A many times. They are useful for many borrowers, but there are
Continue Reading →Older Borrowers and Student Loans: One Client’s Experience
April 21, 2012
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This is dedicated to my client Mr. A in hopes that he will keep his dignity and not lose hope. Some basic facts about Mr. A: He is 83 years old and a veteran of the Korean War. His sole source of income is Social Security. He has an unfortunate array of medical problems, both physi
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