In August 2022, the Department of Education announced that, to address the heightened risk of delinquency and default caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it would provide up to $20,000 of student loan debt relief to borrowers who met certain income thresholds. Borrowers eligible for this relief were to receive up to the full $20,000 in relief if they…

Student debt was specifically addressed in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic through forbearance polices. However, not all individuals were eligible for forbearance, and it is possible that forbearance would leave some feeling further behind. Yet, little is known about student loan debt over the course of the pandemic,…

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments next month about whether President Biden has the authority to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of borrowers. Part of the Biden administration's legal argument rests on the claim that borrowers as a group were made worse off financially by the pandemic. Urban Institute's analysis indicates…

Over the last 3 decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with over $1.3 trillion in outstanding loans as of September 2023. This program provides financial assistance to help students and their parents pay for postsecondary education. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review issues related to…

Earlier this year, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA), a bill to reform higher education grant and loan programs and to establish new accountability rules for colleges. A key part of the bill would replace the myriad income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for federal student loans, including the Biden…

The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program is the single largest source of federal financial assistance to support students' postsecondary educational pursuits. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that in FY2024, $85.8 billion in new loans will be made through the program. As of the end of the first quarter of FY2023,…

We quantify the total stock of balances eligible for the Biden administration's 2022 student loan forgiveness proposal and examine which groups would have benefited most. Up to $442 billion in loans were eligible. Those who would have benefited most were younger, had lower credit scores, and lived in lower- and middle-income neighborhoods. We also…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. This report provides an overview of student loan…

Since taking office, the Biden administration has sought to advance a complex and ambitious higher education regulatory agenda. The U.S. Department of Education held two separate rounds of negotiated rulemaking in 2021-22 to rewrite rules governing student loan relief programs and institutional accountability. This fall, the agency announced plans…

The administration of college financial aid is a key venue through which colleges can affect the likelihood that students will make it to graduation. We investigate the effects of an understudied yet consequential federal student aid policy: Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4). Under R2T4, students "earn" Federal Student Aid over a term or…

The Consider Teachers Act of 2021 was put in place to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and for other purposes. The Act includes the following sections: (1) Short Title; (2) Teach Grants; (3) Submission of Employment Certification; (4) Extension of…

The Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 was put in place to explicitly make unauthorized access to Department of Education information technology systems and the misuse of identification devices issued by the Department of Education a criminal act. The Act includes the following sections: (1) Short Title; (2) Criminal Penalties; (3) Loan…

This is the technical documentation for the report, "How the College Cost Reduction Act Could Threaten the Teacher Pipeline." The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only…