Student Loans

Student loans create debt burdens that impact families for generations. Black Americans in general, and Black and Latina women in particular -- often are forced to take on more college debt than their white counterparts in pursuit of the American Dream. The student debt burden is felt most acutely by attendees of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. CRL successfully led a coalition of advocates that achieved substantial student debt cancellation in 2022. We continue to advocate for higher education policies to protect student loan borrowers and their parents from falling into a cycle of debt that keeps them from engaging in wealth-building activities. 

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Comment on the Hearing on Financial Products for Students: Issues and Challenges

CRL provided a comment for the record on some of the issues covered in the Senate Banking Committee's hearing, "Financial Products for Students: Issues and Challenges" held on July 31, 2014. Students must make important choices related to how much they borrow and from what source, as well as how to conduct every day financial transactions and receive financial aid...

Letter of Support for Higher Education Act

This letter is written to the Chairman of the HELP Committee, Senator Tom Harkin (D – IA), as he seeks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The reauthorization aims to make substantive reforms to protect students and address critical student lending issues, including student loan servicing, private student loans, for-profit colleges, and school-bank partnerships.

Coalition Comment Letter on Proposed Gainful Employment Regulation

CRL added its support to a broad coalition calling for the Department of Education to ensure that its final gainful employment rulemaking must be strengthened to protect both students and taxpayers. This comment letter identifies four specific initiatives to ensure that taxpayers dollars do not support waste, fraud or abuse.

Gainful Employment Regulations Needed to Protect Students

On May 27, 2014, the Center for Responsible Lending submitted a comment to the Department of Education in response to their proposed gainful employment rule. In the comment, senior policy counsel Maura Dundon highlights: how for-profit colleges may fail to provide students the skills or education necessary to seek gainful employment, yet still be the beneficiaries of federal financial aid...

For-­Profit Colleges Saddle African-­American and Latino Students with Crushing Debt, Poor Employment Prospects

Enrolling in a for-profit college usually means higher costs of attendance and higher default rates on student loans. This research brief explores why students of color – African-American and Latino - enroll more frequently in these schools than do white students. CRL also reviews how the Department of Education's proposed Gainful Employment rule could improve student outcomes.

Department of Education Rulemaking to Define ‘Gainful Employment’

With America's student debt now more than $1 trillion and still growing, many borrowers face the likelihood of delaying their ability to begin their own households, buy a home or a vehicle. Further, in a tight job market, many new graduates are financially challenged to begin repayment even with their newly-acquired marketable skills. For consumers enrolled in predatory career education...

Comment on Proposed Regulations for For-Profit and Occupational Schools

CRL recently expressed support for the Massachusetts' Attorney General proposed regulations for occupational and for-profit schools. In its comments, CRL cited that although only 13 percent of students are enrolled at these schools, they account for 46 percent of federal student loan defaults – often in addition to high-cost private loans.

Comment on Forced Arbitration Agreements in College Federal Aid Applications

In reply to the Department of Education's request for comments on the form used by colleges to apply to be eligible for federal student loan funds, CRL called for attention to the arbitration agreements between schools and their students and employees. CRL said that forced arbitration undermines the transparency and accuracy of information reported by the schools, and could threaten...

Federal versus Private Student Loans [Infographic]

Student loans can help you pay for college, but they're not all alike. This infographic shows the different features of federal vs. private loans. Read the Chapter To embed our infographic to your site, simply cut and paste the code below http://qa.crl.w.lmdagency.net/state-lending/student-loans" data-mce-href="http://www.responsiblelending.org/state-of-lending/student-loans/federa…"><img alt="Federal vs. Private Student Loans - Infographic" src="http://www.responsiblelending.org/state-of-lending/images/student-loan-… " title="Federal vs. Private Student Loans - Infographic"...
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