The Maryland Higher Education Commission (the Commission) coordinates the overall growth and development of postsecondary education in Maryland. The Commission is charged with producing a State Plan for Higher Education (the Plan) every four years. (Annotated Code of Maryland, Education Article §11-105) The Plan shall identify: (1) The present and…

The goal of "college-for-all" in the United States has been pursued in an environment of rising tuition, stagnant grant aid and already strapped family budgets with the gap filled by college loans. College students are thus facing increasing levels of debt as they seek to develop their human capital and improve their career options. Debt…

The rise in student loan debt has directed critical attention to the growing pace of college costs as well as the reliance on loans to finance those costs. For graduates entering the workforce in recent years, many are finding that they are unable to find the type of job they thought they were securing when they received their degree, if they are…

As a graduate of Dartmouth College who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the author launched her academic career with a total debt load of over $105,000. As soon as she started working as a full-time faculty member six years ago, she began to make payments of between $600 and $1,000 a month to creditors, depending on what her…

The author demonstrates mathematically that shifting from a grant to loan financing system for students lengthens the time before a graduate breaks even. The implication is that all loan financing for which the repayment is concentrated in the earlier years of working life has some deterrent effect upon college attendance because the net payoff is…

Problems with the Reagan administration's proposal for an income contingent loan (ICL) program are discussed. From an institution's perspective, ICLs are likely to be a major administrative headache because colleges would be required to administer it. (MLW)

The paper reviews and critiques the 13 existing (1987) law school assistance programs and proposes a national repayment-assistance debt-forgiveness program which would involve an income-contingent repayment "tax" coupled with an assurance to creditors of repayment by means of a "guarantee" or "insurance" fund. (DB)

The financial aspects of college loan burden are analyzed, based on the view that loan burden is a function of a borrower's capacity to repay the debt obligation. The following components of a financial model of indebtness are addressed: the stock of education loans at the time repayment begins, the repayment flow associated with each stock of…

This study examines attitudes of Americans toward borrowing to finance educational expenses over the period from 1959 to 1983. The study finds that Americans have had a consistently favorable view toward educational loans. People from low-income backgrounds are less likely to have a positive attitude toward borrowing. (Author/MLW)

Federal student financial aid programs were compared with programs proposed by the Reagan Administration in the Department of Education's fiscal year 1988 budget. Of concern were: total aid received by a student, the portions provided as grants and loans, and the portion of the student's postgraduation income that would be required to repay the…

This empirical study examined postsecondary-student attitudes and preferences regarding five discrete student loan plans and loan plan features. Questions addressed dealth with debt ceilings, loan repayment time span and percentage of annual income, and alteration of repayment plan choices. A random sample of 218 federal aid recipients was used.…

Definitions of manageable college student debts are discussed and one definition is applied to California data, using the Student Expenses and Resources Survey. Definitions proposed by Daniere, Hartman, and Horch define manageable debt levels in terms of future income. A comparison of the three proposals shows the number of years of repayment…

Hearings on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that were held in Portland, Maine, in 1985 are presented. It is noted that in Maine, which is a rural state, family income is low and 56% of its students depend on federal financial aid programs. Specific concerns include: how costs at the University of Maine system compare with costs…

Expenses that health professions students incurred, sources of income to meet those expenditures, and indebtedness incurred by the students during the 1976-77 school year were studied. A questionnaire, which is appended, was mailed to a sample of students registered in schools of dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, podiatry,…

Three models for anlayzing the Tuition Advance Fund (TAF) are examined. The three models are: projections by the Institute for Demographic and Economic Studies (IDES), projections by Data Resources, Inc. (DRI), and the Tuition Advance Fund Simulation (TAFSIM) models from Boston University. Analysis of the TAF is based on enrollment, price, and…