The federal government now offers a multitude of complicated income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that are difficult to understand, enroll in, and stay in. Many students who would benefit from IDR do not enroll, and others will have large amounts of debt forgiven despite earning high wages. The current problems with IDR are not an indictment of the…

Rethinking the balance between federal and state responsibilities for supporting colleges and universities and making higher education accessible and affordable for students is important. There is little disagreement about the current education financing system being inadequate. The debate is about the best way to solve the problem. In this…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

This book analyzes reliable evidence to tell the true story of student debt in America. One of the nation's foremost experts on college finance, Sandy Baum exposes how misleading the widely accepted narrative on student debt is. Baum combines data, research, and analysis to show how the current discourse obscures serious problems, risks…

Student loan debt levels are discussed in relation to borrowing patterns, educational opportunity, and cost-effectiveness of a college education; and common concerns about debt level are examined. It is concluded that while student indebtedness is high, these concerns are out of proportion to reality and reflect inappropriate assumptions about…

The extent to which educational debt is burdensome for borrowers who are currently in repayment was studied with attention to the actual impact of loan repayment on economic behavior and the perceptions of repayers concerning that impact. Opinions of borrowers concerning the role of student loans in providing access to and choice among higher…

This survey concludes that, overall, student debt has not caused most borrowers to make lifestyles changes nor regret their educational investment. Discussion analyzes borrower debt levels; payment-to-income and debt-to-income ratios; noneducation debt burden; student perceptions about borrowing and debt; effect of borrowing on decision making;…