Over the past week, the student loan industry has been exposed in the national media for questionable business practices. At the University of Washington, students who have long been active on the issue of student debt are hopeful that this will push Congress to reform higher education policy.
“This news brings to light many problems that run throughout the student loan industry,” said Shirin Ebrahimi, a junior at the University of Washington and the coordinator of WashPIRG’s Student Debt Alert campaign. “A broader problem, however, is that students need to borrow so much in the first place. Students need Congress to address these issues through comprehensive legislation this year.”
The legislation that student activists are targeting is reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which covers the federal government’s major student aid programs including the Pell Grant the student loan programs in question. Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is required every five years, and the last major action was taken nine years ago in 1998.
Students were quick to point out that over the past decade both the percent of students that borrow and their average debt have doubled. “That is what you get when tuition rises and federal aid fails to keep up,” continued Ebrahimi.
WashPIRG in coordination with other student groups across the nation have proposed a set of policy recommendations for the Higher Education Act:
1. Make student loans affordable by lowering the interest rate and passing protections for borrowers.
2. Make student loans manageable by provisions such as limiting loan payments to a reasonable percent of income.
3. Provide more need passed grant aid for low-income students through programs like the Pell Grant.
4. Cut excessive lender subsidies out of the loan programs to pay for increased aid.
Students with WashPIRG at the University of Washington have been building grassroots support for this plan by collecting postcards on campus and adding to their “student debt yearbook” online. Leaders from WashPIRG and the Associated Students of the University of Washington have also been meeting with their legislators to discuss the plan and seek support.
"Higher education is the basic building block for the future of America, and we've got to do a better job of making higher education affordable,” said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), who met with students last week. “I believe that higher education is an investment in America's future, but we are treating it more like an expense today. America's future depends on your future- that's where I want Congress to start when it considers ways to make higher education more accessible and affordable."
Students hope to see reauthorization in the Senate before school ends and in the House this summer.
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WashPIRG is an independent state-based student organization that works to solve public interest problems related to the environment, consumer protection, and government reform.
