The student loan payment pause ended two years ago as of September 2025, but borrowers were given a one-year "on-ramp" to resume payments. In April, the Department of Education announced that collections on student loans would start again. The California Policy Lab's prior work found that a large portion of borrowers were likely to…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…

As overall student loan indebtedness in the United States has increased over the years, many borrowers have found themselves unable to repay their student loans. Ordinarily, declaring bankruptcy is a means by which a debtor may discharge--that is, obtain relief from--debts he is unable to repay. However, Congress, based upon its determination that…

This TICAS (The Institute for College Access & Success) issue brief explores student financial vulnerability and highlights the need for policymakers to both prioritize need-based grant aid and recognize a broader array of financial circumstances and challenges impacting students in order to better address their financial needs and reduce…

While there are many educational and experiential benefits to attending professional higher arts education programs, students who incur excessive student loan debt during their studies may experience unanticipated or poor professional outcomes either over the course of their artistic careers, shortly after the expiration of a loan grace period, or…

The stories of college graduates burdened with mountains of debt and poor job prospects have been well documented in this recession year. But while these students do face real problems in today's tough economy, their degree will still likely prove to be a wise investment even as the recession draws to a close. This isn't the case for another group…

Student loan debt is fast becoming a fact of American life. Students are borrowing more money for college and are being forced to pay back large sums of their income. This report offers a new way to pay back student loans based on each individual's earnings. International Income-Contingent Loan Systems are appended. (Contains 1 figure and 40…

How well a particular industry fares during any given time has an impact on countless other industries and consumers. Case in point--rising gas prices are affecting everything from airfares to the price of getting a pizza delivered. This article describes a similar situation that is happening with the wave of home foreclosures as the subprime…

Recent turbulence in the student-loan business has colleges scrambling to find new loan providers. Financial-aid offices at affected colleges are working hard to get the word out to students. Changes in the loan market have hit community colleges particularly hard because their students tend to have smaller loans and higher default rates than…

The British system of student loans has a zero real rate of interest, less than it costs the government to borrow the money. This paper discusses the problems that arise from interest subsidies in the UK system of student loans; systems in other countries, for example Australia and New Zealand, face similar problems. The topic appears to be narrow…

For several months, the subprime-mortgage crisis has hovered over colleges, its ultimate effects uncertain. That is changing. In the past few weeks, a series of loan companies have withdrawn from broad categories of student lending, and some colleges have acknowledged sharp increases in borrowing costs. The most severe effect may be still to come,…

Supporters of the new direct student loan program are critical of the private loan-guarantee agencies that cover lender losses on defaulted loans, portraying them as greedy, inefficient, and plagued by conflicts of interest. In turn, the agencies and banks doubt federal capacity to manage student borrowing. (MSE)

A variety of alternatives to traditional means of financing a college education are being developed by states and institutions in response to rising tuitions. The ideas, including novel payment and loan plans and tuition futures, are often controversial because of the risks they entail. (MSE)

This paper studies the nature and impact of credit constraints in the market for human capital. We derive endogenous constraints from the design of government student loan programs and from the limited repayment incentives in private lending markets. These constraints imply cross-sectional patterns for schooling, ability, and family income that…

The problem of managing collection efforts on defaulted student loans under the guaranteed student loan program is discussed. This review was made to assist the Office of Education in developing collection guidelines and procedures to cope more effectively with the rapidly increasing backlog of defaulted loans. It is shown that changes in policy…