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Nelnet contributed funds to congressional campaigns
Daily Nebraskan - January 26, 2007
NelNet, one of the country’s biggest student lenders donated thousands of dollars to the 2006 campaigns of two Nebraska Congressmen. Not surprisingly, they were two of 71 reps who lost the vote against H.R. 5, the College Student Relief Act, in a landslide last week.
College Costs Top Inflation
Associated Press - October 24, 2006
College price increases slowed this year but they again topped inflation, and financial aid isn't keeping pace, a new report says.
Loan Company Offers Caribbean Junket to Financial Aid Officers
Higher Ed Watch - October 24, 2006
Six weeks ago, a private student loan company came to the defense of financial aid administrators accused of receiving cash and in-kind payments for driving students to particular college loan providers. Oddly enough, Loan to Learn is now offering administrators, who the company claims “have spent their careers looking out for the best interests of students," four day, all-expense-paid luxury trip to the Caribbean West Indies.
Debt Education: Bad
Dissent Magazine – Summer 2006
Now that it’s virtually impossible to work your way through college, student loans have become an essential part of the university experience, forcing a mind shift about education; what was once a public entitlement is now a private privilege. This article examines some of the problems posed by this shift, and proposes a range of solutions.
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Campus Progress Articles
College Debt Relief: Not on these politicians' watch
Campus Progress – January 25, 2007
Campus Progress exposes members of Congress who tried unsuccessfully to block the passage of the College Student Relief Act. Check out our Hall of Shame.
Making College Affordable Again
Campus Progress – July 6, 2006
The availability of student aid has failed to keep pace with the rising cost of tuition, while debt rises debt among college graduates who have borrowed on worse terms than in the past.
Live Chat – Anya Kamenetz and "Generation Debt"
Campus Progress – March 6, 2006
Did you know that every dollar you spend while living on student loans could cost you $50 in the future? Anya Kamenetz, Village Voice columnist and expert on student debt, discusses this fact along with other questions regarding the causes and effects of student debt as well as methods for relieving it (or never getting it in the first place) in this Live Chat with student reporters.
A Letter to Parents: We Are Drowning in Debt
Campus Progress – March 28, 2005
The average student today graduates with debt almost 3 and a half times what it was a decade ago and enters a job market where the average job pays them less than they did in 2000. This letter to parents warns of the dangers of failing to provide adequate debt assistance to children while outlining the roots and consequences of the gravest debt-related problems facing U.S. students today.
Living in the Library, For Real
Campus Progress – March 22, 2005
What would you do so you could get a quality college education? One student at NYU went so far as to live in the library.
Priced Out of an Education
Campus Progress – March 16, 2005
As grants to pay for college decrease, and loans become the standard, access to higher education is in a downward spiral, and as a result, black students are becoming more and more conspicuously absent from colleges around the country.
Crib Sheet: Student Loans
Campus Progress – March 2, 2006
American taxpayers are missing out on $2 billion dollars in savings while banks make millions on a virtually risk-free government-insured student loan program. Find out about a proposal to cut out banks as useless but expensive middle men. Get what you need to know here!
Don’t Bow Down to This Lord: Corporate Welfare vs. Student Financial Aid
Campus Progress – February 25, 2005
College loan companies aren’t just ripping off students, they rip off taxpayers too. Find out how the president of Sallie Mae is living high off the hog at the expense of students and taxpayers alike.
The Kids Aren’t Alright: Why Middle Class Security is So Last Generation
Campus Progress – February 9, 2005
This generation is poised to be the first to be financially worse-off than their parents. Ever. While real wages stagnate and the cost of college rises, young people and their families are stretching themselves to make up the difference, drowning, and still holding out for that yacht.
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Articles
House Easily Passes Scaled-Back Measure to Ease Student Debt
Chicago Tribune, January 18, 2007
The House passed a bi-partisan resolution to reduce interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans. The measure will be phased-in for the duration of five years, reducing the interest rate from 6.8 to 3.4.
Relief Looms for Student Loan Borrowers...But Who Will Pay?
Fox News
Loan Lenders are concerned that they are going to be held responsible for covering the funding of the proposed interest rate reduction. In order for the government to cover the $6 Billion interest rate cut, the bill would reduce subsidies for the private lenders.
Senate To Consider Student Loan Interest Rates
Associated Press
Senator Kennedy scheduled a hearing to consider the ways to make college more affordable. Besides the phased-in interest rate cut, Kennedy is also proposing raising the maximum amount of Federal Pell Grants students can receive from $4,050 to $5,1000.
Drowning in Debt: How Privatization and the rise of a for-profit loan industry hurts students
Orbis, December 8, 2006
Most American students used to get money from college from grants (i.e. free money,) but now the vast majority must borrow funds by taking out loans. How did this happen? This article puts the current situation into historical and political context, tracing the transition from the past to the debt-laden present. It also provides an excellent outline of actionable options by illustrating the benefits and detriments of private lending versus the direct loan program.
America's Indentured Graduates
Christian Science Monitor, December 6, 2006
In today's information-based world, it's a must for young people to get a college education. However, graduates are now saddled with twice as much debt as a decade go, twice as many students have to borrow money, and three out of four students with $20,000 or more in debt are already working. This generation is trying its damnedest, but the cards are just stacked against them. This concise but comprehensive article poses the question as to whether college should become as freely available as K-12.
Incoming House Likely to Reform How Students Pay for College
Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2006
The incoming House has pledged to cut student loan interest rates in half, from 6.8% to 3.4%. This cut, however, may only last for one year due to its steep costs. The new leadership has also introduced legislation that would give students and universities incentives to borrow directly from the government instead of going through private lenders. This would not only save students money, but it would benefit the government as well by circumventing the wasteful subsidies that go to private banks.
Young People Struggle to Deal With Kiss of Debt
USA Today, November 20, 2006
This generation of twentysomethings is straining under the weight of college loans and other debt, a crushing load that separates it from every previous generation.
Student Voting Impacts Political Decision-Making
Daily Collegian (Penn State University), November 15, 2006
With student voting in the recent midterm elections up 118 percent on campus since 2002, the new Democratic majority in congress may start to pay attention to student concerns.
Colleges Seek More State Aid
Massachusetts Republican, October 30, 2006
Presidents of three community colleges in Western Massachusetts last week took a united stand in favor of increased state financial aid, saying some students are already cutting back on their course loads because of a lack of funds.
U.S. Court Upholds Law Denying College Loans to Drug Offenders
Bloomberg News, October 30, 2006
A federal judge in South Dakota upheld a law making students ineligible for federally backed college loans once they have been convicted on a drug charge.
Offering Perks, Lenders Court Colleges’ Favor
New York Times - October 24, 2006
With rising tuition making private student loans a big business, lenders are courting universities in hopes that they will steer students their way.
 Student Debt Crisis: Are There Any Solutions?
AlterNet – August 23, 2006
This article offers a comprehensive look at the causes of student debt, such as interest rates, the zeitgeist mentality about massive debt, and tuition increases.
This Rampart Is Rising: In Many Nations, Class Barriers to College Are Growing
Newsweek, Aug. 21-28, 2006
Depending on the country, a person with a university degree can command anywhere from 25 to 120 percent more in lifetime earnings. When it comes to the price of a university education, there is much at stake around the world.
Private Lender Accused of Misleading Students
Inside Higher Ed – September 28, 2006
Find out how Loan to Learn, the company responsible for about 10% of all student loans in the United States, has been deceiving students about federal loans, and reaping enormous profits as a result.
Educational Attainment Drops as Student Debt Goes Up
Neiman Watchdog – September 21, 2006
This report has the facts on the mounting problems facing students after leaving college, and the U.S.’s declining numbers of young people earning college degrees.
Textbooks, housing reasons for student debt: Rising Cost of Student Living
The Daily Texan – September 1, 2006
Although tuition has skyrocketed in years past, overall increases in cost of living have contributed to unmanageable college costs. College textbooks, for instance, have tripled in price since 1986 and are becoming ever-larger culprits of student debt.
The Growing (And Nearly Equal) Private and Public Student Debts
The Cavalier Daily – August 31, 2006
Graduates of public colleges and universities accumulate almost as much debt as their peers at private institutions. This is part of larger trend of exploding student debt overall. Private loans for higher education rose in volume from $2.5 million in 2004 to $6.3 million in 2006.
How the Financial Aid Flows: Inequitable Tax Breaks
Inside Higher Ed – August 24, 2006
When it comes to tax breaks for college, federal aid isn’t necessarily supporting those who need it most. The higher income families actually receive more financial relief for college than lower class households do.
Sallie Mae's Success Too Costly?
60 Minutes - May 7, 2006
Sallie Mae, the student loan corporation, has reaped tremendous benefits at students' expense. As 60 Minutes reports, the company's stock price has gone up almost 2,000 percent in 1995 when Sallie Mae became a private lender, and the current CEO, Al Lord, is building his own private golf course and made a bid to buy a professional baseball team. Not only that, Fortune magazine has deemed Sallie Mae one of the most profitable companies in the world. This is horrible news for students and taxpayers alike, as they're the ones paying for it. The loan cycle can continue because universities are essentially bribed by Sallie Mae to use their loan program instead of the direct loan program run by the U.S. government. Government loans, however, cost taxpayers about five times less per student loan and save students money as well. Passing legislation to reinforce the direct loan program will be difficult, as Sallie Mae and its employees have thrown more than $2.7 million at congressmen and their PACs since 2002 to keep the status quo stacked in their favor.
Student Debt Alert: Nationwide Student Debt
Student Debt Alert – 2006
Total student debt in the United States totals more than $438 billion, and that’s not even including private loans. This site gives a few powerful factoids about student debt and features a continuously rolling debt counter.
The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance – “Dollars & Sense”
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance – November 9, 2005
This governmental PowerPoint presentation provides ample, damning evidence that higher education is increasing becoming a class privilege, not a social right. It offers a clear visual snapshot of the issue, as well as some possible solutions, like simplifying the loan process for lower-income students, to improve the plight of collegiate debt.
Note: If you don’t have PowerPoint, you can access the presentation with this free online software.
Putting Students First
The New York Times - June 14, 2004
Let's face it: student loans are broken. Representative Petri, a congressman since 1979, explains how absurd the inner workings of student loans really are. Private lenders, for instance, are guaranteed a profit when lending money to students even when interest rates fluctuate and when students default on their payments. His remedy is to strengthen the direct government loan program. Not only is it cheaper for students, it's actually far more efficient than the private process and ends up turning a profit for taxpayers.
Student debt increasingly unmanageable
CNN.com – March 8, 2002
Over six in ten college graduates are burdened with debt. Of those, four in ten college graduates are burdened with an unmanageable debt of 8% or more of their income.
Reports & Comprehensive Resources
Tuition on the Rise While Aid Languishes Behind
The College Board - October 24, 2006
Although college tuition is increasing at a dastardly rate, it's slowing somewhat at public universities. Private universities, however, are still experiencing rapidly increasing costs. Just like tuition, aid is also increasing but is failing to keep up with inflation, and federal aid is actually decreasing. This excellent collegiate snapshot also features reports about student debt, Pell Grants, and trends in community colleges.
Higher Education: Soaring Out of Reach for Hispanic Families
Campaign for America's Future, September 2006
Contrary to the name of the report, it actually focuses on financial disarray of all college students, not just ones from Hispanic families. Now more than ever, college costs a greater portion of family income due to unprecedented increases in tuition. But the real strength of this report is its damning case against private lenders and makes a strong, thorough case for direct student loans from the government. For instance, did you know that loans from private institutions like Sallie Mae cost the government 11% of the total loan, whereas direct loans cost the government only 3.7%? That's a huge savings not only to the taxpayer, but to students as well.
Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt’s Negative Impact on Public Service Career Opportunities
State PIRGs’ Higher Education Project – April 2006
Exorbitant student loans aren’t just detrimental for the people who have to repay them; they also sap society as well. Student debt is outpacing the starting salaries of jobs like teaching and social work it far more difficult for college graduates to pursue careers in those fields. This means that fewer people in society will be able to receive a quality education and the help they need – all thanks to student loans.
Student Loans in Bush's Budget
Kate Sabatini & John S. Irons, Center for American Progress - February 7, 2006
President Bush’s budget for Fiscal Year 2007 will direct approximately $8 billion in net subsidies to private student lenders next year through the government-guaranteed loan program. If 100 percent of loans were disbursed through the direct loan program, the savings could be redirected to the Pell Grant Program to provide up to 1.5 million new grants to students.
Project on Student Debt
Project on Student Debt – 2006
Project on Student Debt is a project that aims to reform governmental policy about student loans with its five-point plan. The website has detailed information about student loans per state, per university, as well as a plethora of general facts about university-related debt.
Putting Students First
Center for American Progress - April 29, 2004
An analysis of the potential for cost savings and increased aid to students through greater participation in the Direct Loan Program.
Empty Promises
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance – June 2002
Every year over 400,000 students will be unable to enroll in a four-year college due to financial barriers. What’s worse is that over 200,000 college-qualified students will receive no college education for the same reason. This detailed, analysis of student debt explores its causes, its inevitable consequences, and possible solutions.
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