Browsing by Author "Dynarski, Susan M."

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    College Grants on a Postcard: A Proposal for Simple and Predictable Federal Student Aid
    Dynarski, Susan M.; Scott-Clayton, Judith (The Brookings Institution, 2007-02-01)
    Despite a range of federal programs designed to offset the cost of college, evidence shows that they have limited impact on the college attendance rate of even high-performing low- and middle-income students. The authors propose a drastic simplification of the current system of educational grants and tax incentives. Their proposal combines Pell Grants and the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits for undergraduates into a single, streamlined grant administered through the Department of Education, using information already collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Eligibility can be explained on a postcard, allowing students and families to anticipate their grants many years before the college decision. This set of reforms will improve the effectiveness of the billions already committed to higher education, allowing aid to serve its intended goal: opening college doors to those with the ability but not the means to pursue higher education.
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    Loans for Educational Opportunity: Making Borrowing Work for Today’s Students
    Dynarski, Susan M.; Kreisman, Daniel (The Hamilton Project, 2013-10-01)
    In this article the authors propose a better model of loan repayment. A single, simple, income-based repayment system called Loans for Educational Opportunity (LEO) will replace the current, bewildering array of repayment options. Student-loan payments will automatically rise and fall with a borrower’s earnings, just as contributions to Social Security rise and fall. A fraction of earnings will be deducted from each paycheck, with a larger fraction taken when incomes are high and a smaller fraction when incomes are low. This is a system of loan repayment designed for the 98 percent of students who borrow a manageable amount. For the other 2 percent, the authors propose stronger consumer protection: private student loans will not survive bankruptcy, loans that need a credit check will not be marketed as “student loans,” and individuals will exhaust all federal student loans before being allowed to take out any private loans.