Financial Aid

As student loan debt levels and default rates in the United States continue to climb, consumers remain concerned about the accessibility and affordability of higher education. The average overall loan debt for bachelor’s degree recipients is fairly manageable (about $26,500 for the class of 2011, according to The Institute for College Access and Success). Still, students and families are shouldering a greater portion of the cost of college through loans than they ever have before.

A House bill, the Earnings Contingent Education Loans (ExCEL) Act of 2012, attempts to reduce complexity, improve default rates, and increase the effectiveness of federal student loan subsidies—and would dramatically alter the way federal student loans are paid back. On Dec. 17, Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) introduced the bill, which would provide unsubsidized loans and require income-contingent repayment for all borrowers through a payroll withholdings system.

Feedback from private student loan borrowers reveals they hold a host of common misconceptions about their loans. In comments and complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), borrowers demonstrate a lack of knowledge about the difference between private and federal student loans, how bankruptcy can impact their loans, who holds and services their loans, what repayment options they have, and more. The consequences of these misunderstandings include unexpected default, forbearance fees, and ineligibility for repayment incentives.

Record numbers of students enrolling in college as well as an increasing reliance on student loans to finance the growing cost of college has vaulted student aid into the national spotlight this campaign season.

Both presidential campaigns are dedicating an unprecedented amount of time articulating their widely varying policies aimed at making college more affordable.

President Barack Obama’s administration has pushed for more student aid spending and more regulations to increase the return on the federal investment in higher education.

Despite Federal District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras’ ruling that negates a primary metric of the U.S. Department of Education’s “gainful employment” regulations, the DOE still has authority to regulate gainful employment programs and schools should continue to look for ways to promote the financial success of their students.

The roughly 9 million students who rely on subsidized federal loans will see interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on loans borrowed after July 1. It’s just the latest chapter in the nearly 50-year saga of the federal government trying to determine the appropriate rate for these loans.

The Obama administration has urged Congress to extend the 3.4 percent rate for one year, but an extension would cost an estimated $3.9 billion. Students and parents trying to plan and pay for college face confusion and uncertainty.

The time of unprecedented growth for the federal Pell Grant program couldn’t have come at a worse time for Congress. As lawmakers were looking to cut federal spending to address the growing national deficit, record college enrollments, the economic downturn, and expanded Pell Grant awards and eligibility criteria combined to triple the cost of the program over five years.

Are the financial aid award letters your institution sends to returning and prospective students clear, correct, complete, and comparable to other institutions’ award letters? The federal government thinks that too many are misleading and difficult to compare.

Complying with the growing and increasingly complex Title IV federal student aid regulations is an ongoing challenge for every campus that administers federal student aid. Performing a word count of student aid regulations in 2000 and 2010 reveals a 40 percent increase over that decade. A recent survey of financial aid administrators shows that increasing regulatory and compliance requirements are causing resource shortages in many financial aid offices.

Republicans and Democrats agree: The projected cost of the Pell Grant program is unsustainable. Now policymakers are looking at the best ways to reduce costs.