Free Republic

When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed revoking the “gainful-employment” rule last month, critics pounced, claiming that it would “pad the pockets of for-profit colleges,” in the words of Washington’s Senator Patty Murray. In fact, throwing out the rule—penalizing schools whose graduates have lots of debt relative to their earning power—will merely level the playing field. Why should for-profit colleges, the rule’s target, be held to a higher standard than nonprofits, when plenty of for-profit schools provide students with the skills necessary for employment, and plenty of nonprofit schools don’t? DeVos is on the right track. It’s time to stop using...

No excerpt allowed from Bloomberg, story here

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau performed a genuine public service this week by alerting taxpayers to the tidal wave of student loan defaults coming their way. Too bad the intention was also to alert student borrowers to ways they can avoid repaying those loans. A new analysis by the bureau shows federal-backed student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion, which is nearly double what it was at the start of the Obama Presidency. As college costs have continued to balloon in tandem with federal loan and grant subsidies, students have assumed more debt. Many jobless Americans have also sought asylum from...

When President Obama last month announced proposals to make college more affordable, many critics focused on his plan to rate colleges based on measures like tuition, graduation rates, and the debt and earnings of graduates, and eventually to link financial aid to those ratings. Largely overlooked was a more immediate change that could make a dent in the rising number of student-loan borrowers going into default. Starting next month, the Department of Education will contact borrowers who are struggling to repay their federal loans to make sure they know all the options available to them. “We think there are lots...

Raha Wala, a 30-year-old lawyer for an international human rights organization, is facing $200,000 in student loan debt. But if all goes according to plan, most of that burden will be forgiven after 2020 under a federal program aimed at helping those who enter public service jobs. “It’s enabling me to do the work that I love,” said Mr. Wala, who graduated in 2010. “It wouldn’t be possible, otherwise.” The federal government is trying to encourage more participation in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was created in 2007. The program and other debt assistance options have been underused...