Professor A.R.P Rau published a letter to the editor of the Advocate this morning. I am printing the letter in its entirety. LSU recently hired a football coach for an obscene $100 million. Athletic directors, other coaches, and umpteen assistant coaches have...
John Prine wrote a lovely song called Paradise, a tribute to the landscape of his childhood, located “down by the Green River, where Paradise lay.” But that landscape was destroyed by strip mining, as Prine’s lyrics attest. “I’m sorry...
As the Chronicle of Higher Education reported recently, college enrollment dropped by 475,000 students last fall. Since the COVID pandemic began two years ago, undergraduate enrollment has plunged by 9.2 percent. A look at college enrollment over the last 10 years...
Big changes to student loan servicing that began last year are continuing to ripple through the student loan space. Here’s what you need to know.
“Nothing was delivered,” the Byrds sang more than fifty years ago, and “nothing was received.” I have no idea what the Byrds were singing about when they cut Nothing Was Delivered, but they might have been referring to college degrees. In...
On October 20 of last year, the Department of Education announced that Navient, a giant student-loan servicer, was turning its business over to Maximus, a government services company. DOE spokesperson Richard Cordray said this about the switchover: We are confident...
The Biden administration has plans to return millions of student loan borrowers to repayment after the payment pause ends in May. Here’s what you need to know about income-based repayment, auto-debit, loan servicing, default, and more.
As the Biden administration’s expansion of a key student loan forgiveness program kicks into high gear, federal regulators are starting to hear complaints from borrowers about servicers misleading them.
Here’s how looming interest rate increases may impact student loan borrowers.
Under the terms of the Navient student loan settlement, some borrowers will be eligible for student loan forgiveness or restitution. But many borrowers won’t qualify. Here’s what you need to know.
Advocates for student loan borrowers, and their allies in Congress, are continuing their campaign to convince President Biden to enact widespread student loan forgiveness. And the issue may be coming to a head soon, at least according to one key senator.
Here’s where things stand with current student loan forgiveness programs, and how to start the process of applying for relief.
Borrowers on track for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal student loan forgiveness program for borrowers working for nonprofit and public organizations, will continue to see significant changes this year.
Yesterday, President Biden announced an extension of the student loan payment pause. What does it mean for student loan forgiveness?
A major settlement was announced on Thursday to resolve a long-standing lawsuit brought by several state attorneys general against Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan companies. The settlement will result in $1.7 billion in student loan...
The Navient settlement agreement includes student loan forgiveness for certain private student loans, and modest restitution for some federal student loan borrowers. Here’s what you need to know.
Biden administration officials are touting $15 billion in student loan forgiveness for hundreds of thousands of borrowers during Biden’s first year in office. But will he do more?
A coalition of advocacy groups is calling on President Biden to enact sweeping changes to income-driven repayment plans for federal student loan borrowers. Here are the details.
The debate over mass student loan forgiveness continues as advocates ramp up pressure on President Biden to act. But there are signs that a broader student loan forgiveness initiative has not been taken off the table.
Forty state attorneys general sued Navient Corporation for deceptive lending practices in its student loan business. Navient settled the lawsuits last week for $1.85 billion. The loan giant admitted no wrongdoing, saying the claims against it were...
Under the terms of the Navient student loan settlement, some borrowers will be eligible for student loan forgiveness or restitution. But many borrowers won’t qualify. Here’s what you need to know.
When I was in college, it was a felony to possess marijuana in any amount. If the cops caught you with it, you could go to the state penitentiary for a very long time. When I was a child, Oklahoma prohibited the sale of hard liquor. Okies could drink 3.2 percent beer...
I grew up in Anadarko, a small town settled near the banks of the Washita River in southwestern Oklahoma’s Caddo County. Anadarko was a thriving community when I was a child. Family shops lined Broadway, the town’s main street. Farmers and their families...
The Navient settlement agreement includes student loan forgiveness for certain private student loans, and modest restitution for some federal student loan borrowers. Here’s what you need to know.
A major settlement was announced on Thursday to resolve a long-standing lawsuit brought by several state attorneys general against Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan companies. The settlement will result in $1.7 billion in student loan...
A coalition of advocacy groups is calling on President Biden to enact sweeping changes to income-driven repayment plans for federal student loan borrowers. Here are the details.
The debate over mass student loan forgiveness continues as advocates ramp up pressure on President Biden to act. But there are signs that a broader student loan forgiveness initiative has not been taken off the table.
During my years at the University of Houston, I parked my modest Honda in the faculty parking lot next to other modest cars driven by UH professors–mostly Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, and Fords. Then I would walk through the parking lot reserved for...
Here’s how looming interest rate increases may impact student loan borrowers.
You’ve seen those old crime movies. Detectives wearing fedoras arrive unannounced at someone’s home and accuse a hapless citizen of committing murder. “Am I under arrest?” the homeowner askes nervously. “Not yet,” a detective...
Here’s where things stand with current student loan forgiveness programs, and how to start the process of applying for relief.
Borrowers on track for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal student loan forgiveness program for borrowers working for nonprofit and public organizations, will continue to see significant changes this year.
“Nobody thinks of anything as long as his luck is good,” Kurt Vonnegut observed in one of his novels. “Why should he?” American colleges have had a remarkable run of good luck. For half a century, they’ve enjoyed a steady supply of...
When Joe Biden was running for President, he said he would cancel $10,000 of every college borrower’s student debt if Congress consented. But Congress hasn’t acted. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Schumer have urged President Biden to cancel $50,000...
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Southerners traditionally eat black-eyed peas, cabbage, and pork on New Year’s Day. The Almanac says these foods symbolize prosperity. Cabbage represents money, black-eyed peas suggest coins, and pork represents forward...
Don’t lend money to a friend, an ancient proverb advises, because you will lose both your friend and your money. My cousin Rudy taught me that lesson. A couple of years ago, Rudy called me from the Travis County Jail in Austin, TX, asking me to go his bail. I...
