This coalition letter from organizations representing students, consumers, veterans, faculty and staff, civil rights advocates, and researchers expresses concerns with multiple provisions in H.R. 6951, The College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA). Although this legislative package includes some new approaches to holding colleges accountable for student outcomes and incorporates some bipartisan proposals, the package also includes…
Federal regulations intended to streamline the authorization process for distance education institutions may be weakening state-level accountability standards and leaving online students vulnerable to predatory behavior.
This report provides background on the states’ role as student consumer protector and a brief history of the federal government’s fraught efforts to regulate state authorization for distance education. We call on policymakers to keep in mind the states’ role as student consumer protector in state authorization and reciprocity rulemaking, particularly with respect to distance…
Appearing in Fortune On Demand on September 17, 2023, Anna Anderson offers guidance for student loan borrowers on the return of student loan payments and interest.
On behalf of our low-income clients, the National Consumer Law Center submits these comments in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s request for comments on the proposed income-driven repayment (IDR) plan request form. Our comments reflect our expertise in the applicable IDR regulations as well as our experience working directly with low-income borrowers applying…
This paper starts by grounding readers in the consequences of student loan default, who is in default and why, and why so many borrowers remain in default for years. It then identifies legal authority, under existing regulations, that empowers the Secretary of Education to compromise student loan debts and so end collection from defaulted borrowers where such efforts would be futile or unreasonable. Now—before the suspension of federally-held student loan collection ends next year—is the time to act on that authority.
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Education published its final Gainful Employment rule — a rule that protects students from high-cost, low-value career training programs that leave students with unaffordable student debt or no increase in earnings above those with only a high school education. In response, Kyra Taylor, staff attorney at the National…
This letter from organizations representing students, workers, civil rights organizations, consumers, low-income borrowers, and researchers sets forth strong opposition to efforts to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the Biden-Harris Administration’s new rule implementing the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan for federal student loan borrowers. Over 4 million Americans across the…
On behalf of our low-income clients, the National Consumer Law Center submits these comments in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s request for feedback on the proposed application form for the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Program. Our comments reflect our experience working directly with low-income borrowers applying for TPD discharge and other federal…
The latest income-driven repayment (IDR) plan has been touted as the most generous student loan plan ever — and, in an article appearing in NerdWallet on Aug. 24, 2023, Eliza Haverstock talks to Kyra Taylor about how it could give greater flexibility to married couples with student debt.
This one-pager helps students who are attending a school that closed or is about to close figure out what to do next with their federal and private loans.