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 new proposed risk-sharing model that would require colleges to repay the federal government for a calculated proportion of their…

Financial literacy, or understanding how money is made, spent, and saved in order to make informed decisions, is particularly important during the transition to and through college. Students who have a deeper understanding of finances and how they work are better positioned to make decisions regarding the college or university they attend, what to…

Evidence of confusion in intermediate accounting textbooks regarding the annual percentage rate (APR) and annual effective rate (AER) is presented. The APR and AER are briefly discussed in the context of a note payable and correct formulas for computing each is provided. Representative examples of the types of confusion that we found is presented…

The rule of 78 is used by banks and loan companies to compute the amounts due when installment loans are paid early. Describes an unexpected case of negative amortization when the rule is applied. Presents an actual problem and discusses the case. (YP)

Guidelines are provided to assist in the interpretation of the regulatory requirements regarding disbursement of funds to students under Title IV student aid programs. Attention is also directed to the higher education community's self-regulation initiatives regarding refund and repayment, as well as the Department of Education's regulations in…

Educational loan limits for graduate and professional students were estimated to provide manageable repayments that were a proportion of the borrowers' future consumption budget data. Based on each professional group's income profile, loan repayments were computed for each year of repayment and summed across alternative repayment periods to arrive…