Student Loans……continued again

Student loan debt has reached all-time highs. More than $105 billion in federal loans were extended in the last fiscal year and more than $1 trillion in loans are outstanding.

Some colleges are recording student loan default rates as high as 22.9 percent. If more than 30 percent of an institution’s loans default in one year, the school is put under review by the federal Department of Education. If the problem isn’t fixed in three years, the school can lose Title IV funding.

Educational institutions, concerned about their continued eligibility for federal aid, are acting aggressively to see that students graduate in a timely manner and meet the terms of their loan repayment plans.

America’s student-loan crisis can’t be fixed simply by focusing on borrowers. Colleges must also focus on borrower education.

1. Some schools offer courses that include in-person counseling and instruction in financial literacy.
2. Some are enlisting faculty to help them determine which students may need assistance with their loans.
3. Some are offering career services that help alums advance within their chosen fields.
4. Some students may benefit from alternative payment plans such as “Pay as you Earn.”

To student loan recipients:
Your debt is a moral, as well as financial, obligation. Please pursue every possible avenue of repayment. Get those loans repaid.