Wayne State University in Detroit announced a tuition hike of nearly 18 percent for the Fall 2007 semester. Central Michigan University’s tuition rose by 21 percent. On average, Michigan’s public universities raised tuition by more than 11 percent for the 2007-08 academic year to make up for cuts in funding from the State of Michigan.

According to Jennifer Pae, President of the United States Student Association, quoted in the Detroit News: “The tuition hikes come at a time when federal financial aid has not kept pace with the rising costs of education. At one time Pell Grants, which are scholarships to the neediest students, covered two-thirds of the cost of unmet need for students, but now that’s just one-third.”

When tuition rises by 18 percent from semester to semester, Senator Kennedy’s Federal financial aid increases simply don’t cover increases like that. This is especially true at Wayne State University, which serves many of Michigan’s poorest students.

To make matters worse, the Kennedy plan keeps the annual and lifetime caps on subsidized Federal loan lending. The “set-and-forget” loan caps are a scandal by themselves. Congress imposed caps on Stafford Loans and then forgot about them. This year marks the first time since 1992 that Congress has adjusted the limits on Stafford Loan borrowing. Rip Van Congress slept for 15 years while the cost of tuition soared.

The Federal government is insensitive to the rising costs of higher education. To allow borrowing caps to go unadjusted for 15 years, while tuition spirals out of control is unconscionable, yet that’s exactly what’s happened.

Caps on aid and lending, and a refusal to allow private lenders to participate in the financial aid process will guarantee that the neediest students don’t have enough money to finish their educations. Unmet financial need will prevent hundreds of thousands of our poorest students from completing a college degree, and Senator Kennedy’s plan doesn’t do anything about that.

The phenomenal growth in private lending for college testifies to the fact that students turn to private lenders when they can’t get financial aid from other sources. The nearly 1,000-percent increase in private lending while Congress slept proves that financial aid from other sources simply hasn’t kept pace with the demand. What will the Federal government do when the number of students who enroll in college increases over the next 10 years? When students can no longer get loans from private lenders, and the Federal government can’t supply enough aid to students, enrollments at our nation’s colleges and universities will drop. We’ll return to the early-60’s, when only children of the wealthy could afford higher education.

Tell your Senators that token increases in Stafford Loan caps are too little, too late. Tell them to wake up and address the real problem: the soaring cost of tuition.

You can make a difference
Call your Senators
Send your Senators an e-mail
Download a letter and fax it to your Senators
Sign the petition and
Tell your friends the truth about the proposed student loan legislation

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.” – Benjamin Disraeli, via Mark Twain.

Indeed, the Congressional Democrats want to use statistics to slant your view of the “crisis” surrounding student loan debt. They will tell you that educational spending by the Federal government has nearly tripled since 1991, from $35 billion to $95 billion, with most of the increase going to financial aid for college students.

What they won’t tell you is that student loan lending by private lenders has also jumped to cover the gap between Federal financial aid spending and the cost of a college education. Between 1994-95 and 2005-06, unsubsidized Stafford loan lending increased nearly 200 percent, and PLUS loans for parents increased 175 percent. While the number of Federal dollars applied to education has increased, the percentage of Federal money hasn’t kept pace with either costs or private lending. Federal money is a shrinking piece of the student financial aid pie. And subsidized student loans have taken the biggest hit, falling nearly 20 percent. Is the increase in Federal education spending a lie, damn lie or a statistic?

Congressional Democrats will tell you that Federal student aid spending has increased from $9.6 billion to $48 billion since 2001.

What Congressional Democrats won’t tell you is that much of the new spending is the result of loan consolidations. It’s not “new” spending on new students and it doesn’t represent an increased commitment on the part of the Federal government to fund education. It’s an effort to help existing loan holders make their obligations. In fact, analysts expect Federal spending on student aid to level off at about $25 billion. Lie, damn lie or statistic?

Given that Federal spending on education hasn’t kept pace with the increase in the cost of education, and is expected to level off at $25 billion, a figure well below the $48 billion figure they’re pointing to, what is the likely outcome of dumping millions of new participants into a program that has already fallen well behind the pace set by increases in the average cost of college and is expected to cap spending on aid at about $25 billion? Many more participants, much less money to go around. Who’s going to make up the difference? Lie, damn lie, or statistic?

Congress can point to an increase in the number of dollars they spend on education, but they can’t cover the fact that their spending hasn’t kept up with the increases in cost for a college education. The Feds are woefully unprepared to deal with an increased number of participants in Federal aid programs because there are fewer aid dollars to go around.

If you don’t want the Federal student financial aid system thrown into chaos, contact your representatives in Congress now and tell them you prefer to leave the FFELP program intact.

You can make a difference
Call your Senators
Send your Senators an e-mail
Download a letter and fax it to your Senators
Sign the petition and
Tell your friends the truth about the proposed student loan legislation

The Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) was initiated in 1993. The program offers subsidized Stafford loans to students and PLUS loans to parents. Eleven percent of the eligible colleges and universities participate in the FDLP.

Five states (AK, MT, NM, ND and VT) have no colleges or universities that participate in the program. Not one single participant! Five states (HI, ME, SD, UT and WY) have only one institution that participates in the program. Only six percent of all institutions in the United States choose to participate in both programs.

Further, more than 600 institutions who have left the FDLP and returned to the FFELP shed some light on why they no longer participate in the Federal program.

• 86 percent said the FFELP is a better program.
• 75 percent said the FFELP better meets their institutions’ needs
• 60 percent said the FFELP has no drawbacks.
• The majority of respondents said the FFELP was more responsive, easier to manage and more financially competitive than the FDLP.
• Respondents valued the FFELP’s customer service, borrower benefits, technology and reconciliation assistance.

So, 20 percent of all states have no or minimal participation in a program, and more than 600 institutions – who at one time used the FDLP – left it because it was not as good as the FFELP; didn’t meet the needs of their institution; was less responsive; harder to manage; less financially competitive than the FFELP; and didn’t provide as much value in terms of customer service and borrower benefits.

Why do more than 80 percent of all educational institutions in this country choose NOT to do business with the FDLP? And what benefit could come from forcing those schools – especially those that voted with their feet – to participate in a program that they’ve already concluded has no benefit for their institution or for their students? What’s wrong with the FDLP?

When it comes to funding for education, the track record for the Federal government is equally unimpressive. The government has established a 10-year track record of reducing and eliminating federal student loans. The percentage of federal student loans, as a percentage of the total amount of financial aid, dropped from 52 percent in 1995-96 to 45 percent in 2005-06. In 10 years, the government stepped away from the plate, forcing students to look for more work-study, federal grants, state grants, private grants and non-federal loans.

In the past nine years for which records are available, the percentage of student loans the government was willing to subsidize dropped dramatically, from 54 percent to 34 percent, at a time when more students than ever were looking for funding for college. Where did those students turn? They went to private lenders. The growth in unsubsidized federal student loans – those provided by private lenders - increased by 158 percent in roughly the same time period. Students turned to the stability of private lenders to make up for the waning commitment to education displayed by the Federal government.

Now, the Federal government proposes to step in again. As a student, I would be worried about how long it would take for the Federal government to step back out. Budget cuts, a sustained economic downturn, and the shifting priorities of the Federal government all leave student loan money vulnerable to cutbacks. When a student commits to four years of education, his or her finances need to be stable. The Federal government has proven that it lacks the ability to commit to educational funding in the face of competing priorities.

On the other hand, private lenders have always been there. They’ve stepped up to the plate every time the Federal government has walked away. Private lenders are in a much better position to maintain and increase the funds available for education because they don’t have competing priorities. The borrower is the lender’s top priority.

The FDLP can never make the student its top priority because the program is a hostage to the whims of Congress. The FFELP is its own master. It has one goal, one function: provide educational funding as efficiently and inexpensively as possible for as many people who need it. The FDLP can NEVER duplicate that.

Please, take one minute to call or write your senator and your representative. Tell them in no uncertain terms that you do want to ensure the long-term availability of college funding for all Americans and the best way to do that is to preserve the FFELP. Please act now.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.

There has been a lot of talk in the media about financial aid officers’ ulterior motives which cause them to steer students towards certain lenders. Politicians would make you think there is a nation-wide conspiracy by school administrators to give students bad choices while making money for themselves. Oh wait. No wonder the politicians are upset. It’s their job to abuse power for personal gain.

Maybe the real conspiracy here is the politicians trying to distract us from what they are doing to student financial aid. With misdirection skills any Las Vegas magician would sell their linking rings for, Senators are jumping on the reform bandwagon. It sure is lucky they have a fleet of legislation ready to vote into law—almost like they planned it. As long as nobody reads the bills they’ve drafted they can pass them into law and tell the American public how they single-handedly put an end to financial aid corruption. That should make a good sound bite come election time and it could play well on the campus tours.

In fact, Congress must hate competition. The legislation they proposed would give the government a virtual monopoly on student lending. Without subsidies, loan companies won’t be able to offer incentives. That makes student loans more expensive to the customer. The long-term effect would be more debt for the students.

So whose ulterior motives should we be more worried about? I’m not excusing anyone who abuses their position for personal gain, but who poses the bigger threat – the administrator who might cut corners or the Congressman who bases life-altering legislation on political aspirations?

We are opposed to the proposed student loan legislation and middle-class families should be too! The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.

You’ll never guess how I spent my evening. Actually you probably will since I’m posting this on StudentLoanTax.org! My friend Brandi is a grad student. She has several more semesters in her future before she will be qualified for her future profession. Tonight we took a look at her student loan situation. She needs to borrow more money than expected for the fall so she wants to plan ahead. Brandi is doing everything a responsible student should do. And then we did some math…Ouch!

When Brandi’s started grad school her undergraduate loans were deferred for payment. Some of those loans are subsidized and some aren’t so the meter is still running on the unsubsidized portions. Not including this interest she owes roughly $30,000. That’s just for her undergraduate degree. Her graduate degree is going to add up to about $22k in loans. This is when she took a deep breath. $52k.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says her chosen profession has a median average of $34,820. That’s not the first year average! That median salary includes the big money makers. Her starting salary will probably be more like $30k. The job outlook is good – it shows a general upward trend for growth. The potential earnings are bad – it shows a general downward trend that isn’t keeping up with inflation. Even if Brandi had no other bills, and that’s just not realistic, and spent every after-tax dollar she makes her first year, not even half of her tuition loans would be paid off.

Luckily her current school participates in the FFELP plan and her loan amounts have been increased due to her financial needs. Luckily the bank managing the FFELP loans has some really good incentives. As long as she makes her first 30 payments on time, she will receive a 3% cash rebate on the remaining principle. If she participates in their automatic payment program she can save a third of a percent in interest. That might not sound like a lot, but that’s $200 she doesn’t have to pay back. Any savings in her situation is a definite plus!

So why would Congress want to take these incentives away from Brandi? What could they possibly get out of costing her money? They get short-term political gain in exchange for her long-term financial worries. If our elected officials think that’s what we the people want or need it is time to give them their own education.

We are opposed to the proposed student loan legislation and middle-class families should be too! The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.

I hate to get all political about this, and I’m sure Sen. Edward Kennedy is a fine person (OK – I’m NOT so sure about that), but does he really think he can play both sides of the student aid issue and keep what little credibility he has?

He says it is time to stop thinking about profits and start thinking about students. Then he says the FDLP (Federal Direct Lending Program) is more profitable for the government than the FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program), so the FFELP must be reformed. Whoa right there, senator. That would mean you think the only way to better serve students is if the government makes a profit? I think Kennedy was seeing just how much fuzzy math, faulty logic, and how many unsubstantiated assumptions he could pack into one piece of legislation.

I agree that students need to be championed. I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say students and education are not important to the future of America. I bet you couldn’t even find someone in the lending business to say it isn’t important. In fact, lenders have a more direct reason than anyone to support students. Why? Profit. There – I’ve said it, and I refuse to accept the senator’s argument that private profit is a dirty word. Part of the practical reason students go to college is to get better jobs when they graduate. They’d like to get a little personal profit. Who doesn’t?

So Kennedy’s plan would champion students by a) removing their options, b) tying students with governmental apron strings, c) forcing private lenders to reduce staff … How exactly does this help students? It isn’t helping students pay for college, which is what the senator and the other members of the Senate Education Committee should be trying to do. Drafting legislation to make a political point is wrong. Claiming that legislation is in the best interest of an underrepresented group like students is a lie.

We are opposed to the proposed student loan legislation and middle-class families should be too! The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.

Congress is making some promises to students it just can’t keep with the current surge of proposed legislation. The only things wrong with its argument are math (which is based on assumptions, not on evidence) and reality. Let’s face it. How many congressmen actually had to borrow money to pay for college? Do they understand the real world of recent college grads who don’t have family connections to help them?

Our typical student, Greg L., borrows his maximum every year for four years starting this fall. He plans to graduate at the end of those four years. His subsidized loans mean he will not have to pay the interest on the loans until six months after he graduates and he begins paying off the loans.

Freshman Greg receives $2,625 at 6.12% as a subsidized loan for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Sophomore Greg receives $3,500 at 5.44%. He’s thinking of changing majors.

Junior Greg receives $5,500 at 4.76%. He’s too wrapped up with his internship to notice the decrease.

Senior Greg receives his final subsidized loan for $5,500 at 4.08%. He’s trying to figure out how to fit three quarters worth of classes into two semesters.

It’s now 2011 and Greg L. hasn’t slept in a year, but he did manage to graduate on schedule. He borrowed $17,125 in subsidized government loans. He will have to start paying them back in six months. That means Greg will have to find a job, move, get a place to live, and receive enough salary to afford paying back the loans. The clock is ticking!

If our Greg L. is like the vast majority of college students attending a four-year university he has other loans to pay back. He won’t get far with $5,500, even at the most inexpensive public schools. So Greg had to go to some private lenders, and they helped him pay for the rest.

Those private lenders understand that having just graduated, Greg L. is getting started on his own. He’ll be earning an entry level salary and facing many financial needs, so he may not be able to repay the loans right away. That’s why lenders will offer him a student loan consolidation loan that will lower his overall interest rate, lower his monthly payment, and give him a payment schedule he can follow.

So subsidized loan rate changes had zero net effect for Greg L. Nothing. Nil. Technically the rate changes cost him money, as all taxpayers had to pay for the legislation to be drafted, debated, committee’d, re-drafted … well, you get the idea. It’s a shame Congress hasn’t.

We are opposed to the proposed student loan legislation and middle-class families should be too! The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET.

It only takes one minute to make a difference: call your senators, send your senators an e-mail, download a letter to fax to your senators, become part of our petition and help your friends find out the truth about the proposed student loan legislation.

STOP the College Student Relief Act and related bills NOW!

This legislation STEALS THOUSANDS FROM STUDENTS by imposing a STUDENT LOAN TAX on all federally funded loans including Stafford, PLUS and Consolidation Loans.

We are opposed to this bill because it hurts the people it says it protects… the students!

Save student loan benefits and STOP the STUDENT LOAN TAX.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

FACT:
This bill is a political gimmick! Nothing more than a “good sound-bite.” It DOES NOT deliver on the promise to save students money.

FACT:
On January 2, 2012, the interest rate returns back to 6.8 percent, making the promised $4,400 in savings is IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE.

FACT:
80% of America’s colleges and universities chose to work with FFELP because it delivers better service and more choices to their students than the Direct Loan Program.

FACT:
The Direct Lending Program COSTS TAXPAYERS - over $16 billion.

FACT:
Lending Companies give students interest rate reductions -the Direct Loan Program DOES NOT.

FACT:
The Direct Lending Program has ADDED to NATIONAL DEBT - it’s borrowed $105 billion, but has only $89 billion to repay the money.

FACT:
H.R. 5 DOES NOT provide relief to students. Interest rates are for subsidized college loans ONLY.

FACT:
This plan DOES NOT help students go to college, NOT ONE additional student will be able to attend college because of this act.

FACT:
There in NO GUARANTEE that subsidies that HR 5 proposes to stop paying FEELP Loan providers will go back to support scholarships and education.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO THE COLLEGE STUDENT RELIEF ACT AND RELATED BILLS. MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES SHOULD BE TOO!
The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET, AGAIN.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

STOP the College Student Relief Act and related bills NOW!

This legislation STEALS THOUSANDS FROM STUDENTS by imposing a STUDENT LOAN TAX on all federally funded loans including Stafford, PLUS and Consolidation Loans.

We are opposed to this bill because it hurts the people it says it protects… the students!

Save student loan benefits and STOP the STUDENT LOAN TAX.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

FACT:
This bill is a political gimmick! Nothing more than a “good sound-bite.” It DOES NOT deliver on the promise to save students money.

FACT:
On January 2, 2012, the interest rate returns back to 6.8 percent, making the promised $4,400 in savings is IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE.

FACT:
80% of America’s colleges and universities chose to work with FFELP because it delivers better service and more choices to their students than the Direct Loan Program.

FACT:
The Direct Lending Program COSTS TAXPAYERS - over $16 billion.

FACT:
Lending Companies give students interest rate reductions -the Direct Loan Program DOES NOT.

FACT:
The Direct Lending Program has ADDED to NATIONAL DEBT - it’s borrowed $105 billion, but has only $89 billion to repay the money.

FACT:
H.R. 5 DOES NOT provide relief to students. Interest rates are for subsidized college loans ONLY.

FACT:
This plan DOES NOT help students go to college, NOT ONE additional student will be able to attend college because of this act.

FACT:
There in NO GUARANTEE that subsidies that HR 5 proposes to stop paying FEELP Loan providers will go back to support scholarships and education.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO THE COLLEGE STUDENT RELIEF ACT AND RELATED BILLS. MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES SHOULD BE TOO!
The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET, AGAIN.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

Although it seems that few are keeping score and even fewer NOT buying into the political propaganda put out by Washington these days, the United States is in the midst of an education crisis, with no real solution in sight.

New Legislation Does Nothing to Rectify The Problem!

Many college students and their parents had put much faith in the new federal legislation, loaded with promises of increasing access to college and cutting costs. But bills such as H.R. 5 leave much to be desired and in fact will worsen the education crisis, if it becomes law.

Here’s what you’ll lose if the new student loan legislation passes:

1. Your right to the best service in the industry. Since all lenders will be forced to compete for a smaller share of the market at a higher cost, lenders can no longer afford to offer the outstanding service they used to.
2. Your right to choose your own lender. If H.R. 5 becomes law, you will no longer have the ability to select the lender of your own choosing. You will be forced to go with the Federal Direct Lending Program (FDLP).
3. Your right to discounts and incentives. Say goodbye to interest rate discounts up to 2.25%. With the FDLP you’re stuck with a measely .025% discount, but only if you use your debit card for payment.
4. Your right to savings. With the disappearance of up to 2.25% in interest rate discounts goes hundreds of dollars in savings yearly and thousands over the course of the loan.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO THIS STUDENT LOAN TAX AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!

The government is taking money out of your pocket again!

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO THIS STUDENT LOAN TAX AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!

The government is taking money out of your pocket again!

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

Does anyone really like to settle for their second or third choice for anything? Though leftovers aren’t half bad, most college students given the option would probably prefer a fresh meal at a nice restaurant.

The same applies to the new college student aid legislation that may soon become law, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of borrowers across the country, if it does.

In their original forms, the laws weren’t half bad. However, students shouldn’t have to settle when it comes to financing their college education. Yet, that is exactly what will be happening if H.R. 5 gets pushed through.

If Student Loan Legislation becomes law:

1. Instead of being able to choose your own Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) lender, you will have to settle for using the Federal Direct Lending Program (FDLP).
2. Instead of receiving outstanding customer service and benefits from the FFELP with a 40-year track record of excellence, you will have to settle for the bankrupt FDLP which has little to offer other than a 10 year history of deficits.
3. Instead of saving thousands of dollars over the history of your loan with the FFELP, you will have to settle for forfeiting these savings with the FDLP.
4. Instead of receiving up to 2.25% interest rate reductions, you will have to settle for a .025% reduction but only if you pay via debit card.

ACT NOW to stop this tax!

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO THIS STUDENT LOAN TAX AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!

The government is taking money out of your pocket again!

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

Government Undersecretary Tucker recently stated that “U.S. banks are harming the ability of college students to afford school by milking profits from the federally funded system.”

But is that really what’s going on? Who’s fooling who? (I’ll let you decide. Hint: it’s not the lenders).

Politicians are basically promising FREE money to college students:

“10 billion dollars in scholarships, grants and fellowships that would not cost taxpayers a dime.”

That’s the line that borrowers are being pitched to sell the new STAR Act, that switches colleges from the FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) to the FDLP (Federal Direct Lending Program).

The only problem is that:

• Its not true: the scholarships, grants and fellowships are not FREE.
• These items will be paid for by you, the borrower.
• The FDLP is bankrupt and has been insolvent for 10 years, currently operating at a $16 billion deficit.
• It makes absolutely no sense to ‘save money’ with a program that has been losing it for almost 10 years.
• Lenders will lose their right to compete for your business, including best rates and service.
• Borrowers lose their right to CHOOSE their FFELP lender, and are forced to go with the FDLP.
• Borrowers forfeit their right to SAVE, since they will no longer have access to 2.25% in interest rate reductions from incentives.
• Savings lost represents over a billion dollars a year collectively, and thousands for borrowers over the term of their loans.

So, with the STAR Act, borrowers forfeit the right to save in exchange for unproven “savings” in the bankrupt FDLP program. What kind of sense does that make? Do the politicians really think they’re fooling anyone?

ACT NOW!

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO H.R. 5 AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!
The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET, AGAIN.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

After all this effort at lobbying students to support H.R. 5 which promised to save college students thousands, what’s the score? Where do we stand?

My position is that we were duped.

The legislation passed through the House of Representatives but has yet to make it through the Senate. At least it hasn’t become law YET and we can still DO SOMETHING to make sure that it doesn’t go through.

Two Key Facts Set The Record Straight

FACT 1:
This bill is a political gimmick that is nothing more than a “good sound-bite.” It promises to save students money but DOES NOT deliver on that promise. The 3.4 percent interest rate stays in effect ONLY from July 1, 2011 through January 1, 2012. On January 2, 2012, the interest rate returns back to 6.8 percent, making the promised $4,400 in savings impossible to achieve.

FACT 2:
The “Student Relief Act” DOES NOT provide relief to students. By gradually reducing interest rates for subsidized college loans, only those who first receive those loans and second are in repayment of those loans see any savings— and those are NOT college students, those are college graduates. This plan DOES NOT help students go to college, NOT ONE additional student will be able to attend college because of this act.

Act now to stop H.R. 5 before it’s passed by the Senate.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

WE ARE OPPOSED TO H.R. 5 AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO!
The government is taking money out of YOUR POCKET, AGAIN.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.

Just a few months ago at a recent Federal Student Aid conference in Las Vegas, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings focused on four issues of financial aid reform. These points were to be the underpinnings of the new democratic legislative agenda, as follows:

1. Expanding access to higher education.
2. Making college more affordable.
3. Increasing need-based student financial aid.
4. Simplifying student access to aid.

Financial Aid Reform Falls Flat

• How is the government doing with its financial aid reform platform?
• Is it meeting its objectives according to the four priorities as outlined above?
• What progress is being made, if any?

My guess is that most who just blindly accept what is fed to them by the popular media are happy and would give a passing grade to the government.

Yet, after examining the issues, piecing together the facts and looking at the long-term picture, it appears that students are getting screwed.

If I were grading, I would give a C- for effort, and D- for effectiveness and impact.

With politics and public policy, there’s nothing new under the sun. Just different players, new distractions and inventive illusions that pacify the public.

Act now to stop H.R. 5 before it’s passed by the Senate.

Call and E-mail Your Senator and Sign Our Petition.