Embedding Rural Learner Realities into State Adult Reengagement Policy

This national survey found that Americans see paying off student loans as a serious problem for both middle-class and low-income families, and they support reforms to make loan payments more manageable.

The Project on Student Debt filed an administrative petition with the Department of Education for a rulemaking process to make student loan repayment more fair and manageable. Many of the goals of the petition were eventually accomplished through the legislative rather than regulatory process, with the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.

This tax model provides more meaningful relief to households with burdensome student debt than the current student loan interest deduction. It rewards work, encourages timely payment, and recognizes family responsibilities.

This white paper analyzes the U.S. student loan programs' strengths and weaknesses and identifies practical ways to achieve a more rational and effective balance of borrower obligations and protections.

This paper examines the extent to which student loan debt discourages family formation, and proposes a policy to ease the burden of loan repayment for borrowers who have children.

This paper examines current perceptions of "manageable" debt burdens, and establishes a range of empirically-derived thresholds, both to provide better advice to students, and to inform the design of loan forgiveness and debt management programs intended to relieve excessive debt burdens. This paper was updated on April 20th to take family size into account.