Browsing by Author "Campbell, Colleen"
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- Addressing the $1.5 Trillion in Federal Student Loan DebtMiller, Ben; Campbell, Colleen; Cohen, Brent J.; Hancock, Charlotte (Center for American Progress, 2019-06-01)This report considers different options for addressing issues for current borrowers of federal student loans. These solutions are meant to be independent of broader loan reforms, such as giving relief to borrowers whose schools took advantage of them. These options also presume keeping and preserving key existing benefits such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Intentionally, this report does not endorse or recommend a specific policy. Rather, it assesses the benefits and potential considerations around a range of ideas, going from the most aggressive— forgiving all student debt—to more technical changes involving interest rates or repayment plans. By examining the trade-offs and the targeting of each policy, the hope is that policymakers and the public can make the most informed decision when it comes to selecting which policy best supports their goals and values.
- Aiding Success The Role Of Federal And State Financial Aid In Supporting California Community College StudentsCampbell, Colleen; Cochrane, Debbie; Love, Ivy; Bruecker. Ellie (Association of Community Colleges Trustees, 2017)Although tuition and fees at community colleges are less expensive than in other sectors, students still struggle to cover their full cost of attendance, which totals approximately $17,000 per year. Students whose resources do not stretch far enough to cover these costs must make choices that undermine their academic success, such as foregoing required textbooks or working long hours rather than studying. Financial aid from federal, state, and even institutional sources can help students cover expenses while avoiding harmful tradeoffs, and research consistently demonstrates that financial aid facilitates student enrollment and success. This report shows the role of financial resources and financial aid in supporting student success, and includes policy recommendations for the federal government, state legislatures, and colleges.
- Five Facts About the Proposed Student Loan Repayment SystemCampbell, Colleen (Center for American Progress, 2018-04-10)Student loan borrowers may be in for a big surprise in 2019. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is proposing big changes to the system that allows more than 37 million borrowers to repay their debt. However, the current financial system is fragmented, with borrowers repaying their loans to one of nine different private contractors, all of whom run their own websites; these services also use a handful of the different technology platform. This report considers five points of the NextGen proposal, focusing on areas where borrowers should pay particular attention as FSA moves forward.
- How Congress Can Fix Student Loan RepaymentCampbell, Colleen (Center for American Progress, 2019-03-01)Students borrowed approximately $91 billion in federal loans in 2018, bringing the total outstanding loan balance to nearly $1.5 trillion. For many, college would not have been possible without such readily available financing, but the burden of debt has become too much. More than 1 million borrowers default every year, and millions more are stuck in what feels like an endless cycle of interest payments and benefits applications. Borrowers of color, in particular, are struggling to repay their debt, exacerbating long-term inequities and causing higher education to be more of a gamble than was promised.
- Lost in the TrillionCampbell, Colleen; Love, Ivy (Association of Community Colleges Trustees, 2017-05-01)Although default rates have decreased in recent years, community colleges still struggle to keep their rates in check: 18.5 percent of borrowers from public two-year colleges default within three years compared to the national average rate of 11.3 percent. In 2015, ACCT published A Closer Look at the Trillion, a report that highlighted the borrowing and repayment trends of community college students in Iowa. In Lost in the Trillion, the authors build on this body of research by analyzing data from the community and technical college system in Kentucky and Louisiana. They find similar trends in all three states with some notable differences, which may reflect how borrowers are responding to federal student loan repayment options. While some of these findings are heartening, it is still clear that federal student loan policies need to be improved in order to help borrowers – especially those with low incomes and low balances – repay their debt.
- One and Done Modeling a One-Time FAFSACampbell, Colleen (Center for American Progress, 2018-11-01)While the FAFSA allows all students to access loans, it is particularly vital for low income students to complete the form, as it provides them with access to the federal Pell Grant. This aid, which totals $6,095 in the 2018-19 school year, can mean the difference between enrolling and forgoing a college education. Research shows that hundreds of thousands of low-income students are tripped up by the form each year, failing to complete the application and verify their information as the first day of class approaches. For many, this means their chances of enrolling in college, let alone completing, are slim. To determine if a one-time FAFSA could be implemented and who it would most help, the Center for American Progress worked with 27 colleges around the United States to gather data for nearly a quarter of a million students who filled out the FAFSA at least two times. The analyses of these data focus on how much students’ expected family contribution (EFC) figure varies from the first year they filed and seek to understand the causes of larger variations in EFC.
- Serving Their Share: Some Colleges Could Be Doing a Much Better Job Enrolling and Graduating Low-Income StudentsCampbell, Colleen; Voight, Mamie (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2015-10-01)The report outlines ways colleges and universities can improve access and attainment for underserved students, particularly Pell Grant recipients, who come from low-income backgrounds. The report lists ten prominent public institutions which are failing to enroll as many low-income, high-achieving students as they could, based on their selectivity and other institutions’ enrollment patterns. It also features interviews with administrators from access-improving institutions who exhibit deliberate recruitment and strong leadership focused on recruitment and retention of Pell students.
- Those Left Behind Gaps in College Attainment by Race and GeographyCampbell, Colleen (Center for American Progress, 2019-06-01)This report lays out the current state of postsecondary attainment in the United States, exploring the overall landscape and delving into how attainment varies according to geography and race. It highlights three case studies to illustrate these disparities: Nye County, Nevada; Washington, D.C.; and Hialeah, Florida. Then, the report concludes by providing recommendations at the federal, state, and local levels.