A new report reveals wide variation in how institutions of higher learning calculate and communicate indirect expenses—such as off-campus housing, transportation, school supplies, laptops, and food beyond college meal plans—to prospective and current students.
Topics: Student debt
HBCUs experimenting to reduce students’ debt burden
Historically Black colleges and universities are balancing their own financial challenges with a desire to reduce students’ debt burden—and creating a range of programs to help.
Bloomberg releases $700 billion higher ed plan
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has unveiled a $700 billion higher education plan that would make two-year public colleges free for all students, double the maximum Pell Grant, and ask institutions to end legacy preference in the admissions process.
A fix for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program?
The U.S. Department of Education is simplifying the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program’s application process, amid frustration from the thousands of borrowers who took up careers in public service and later had their requests rejected.
Study: Graduate school debt could undermine higher ed affordability efforts
Graduate students account for just 15 percent of higher ed enrollment but 40 percent of federal loans issued each year—debt that could ultimately undercut plans to make college more affordable.
Biden higher ed plan features free community college, larger Pell Grants
Presidential candidate Joe Biden has announced a $750 billion higher education plan, which would guarantee two free years of community or technical college and double the maximum Pell Grant.
Billionaire expands Morehouse student debt relief plan to include parents
Robert F. Smith not only fulfilled his promise to pay off the student debt of the entire Morehouse College graduating class of 2019 but also expanded it to include loans taken out by parents. Now, the college is welcoming other donors to help do the same.
High default rates among students who drop out further fueling completion efforts
The loan default rate for students who leave college early is three times that of students who graduate. A new book shows how schools are intervening to keep students on track.
Texas becomes the second state to require FAFSA completion
Louisiana recently made the FAFSA mandatory for graduating high school students—and saw rapid gains. Will a similar policy produce Texas-sized results?
Sanders announces plan to cancel all student loan debt
Senator Bernie Sanders this week proposed legislation that would erase the federal and private student loan debt held by 45 million Americans and eliminate tuition and fees at public colleges, among other provisions aimed at ensuring universal access to higher education.
New College Scorecard data shows high borrowing for grad programs
New information posted to the College Scorecard reveals the amount of debt students take on for graduate programs—amounts notable not only for their size but also their irrationality.
Some say tuition-free college would be regressive. Others say that’s not the point.
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s $1.25 trillion college-affordability proposal has fueled the debate over free college, with some asserting that eliminating tuition at public colleges would disproportionately benefit relatively affluent families—and others saying that argument ignores the bigger picture.