Trump’s plan for student loans is solid

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The Proposals

“Reorient the Accreditation Process to Focus on Student Outcomes” – Accreditation is supposed to give the public confidence that colleges meets the highest education standards, and is required for a school to qualify for federal aid. However, in 2016 the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools continued to accredit Corinthian Colleges even after shady loan practices had been uncovered and right up until their bankruptcy, calling the entire system into question. The White House is looking to make accreditation more meaningful.

“Increase Innovation in the Education Marketplace” – The language for this proposal is not clear, but it sounds like the White House wants to encourage schools to work more closely with the private sector to provide job-specific education.

“Better Align Education to the Needs of Today’s Workforce” – The White House is proposing to improve access to apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training models, including wider access to Pell Grants for students looking at credential, certification, and licensing programs. It would also widen Federal Work Study programs to include more practical off-campus jobs.

“Increase Institutional Accountability” – Schools accepting federal funds would have to share in the burden of unpaid student debt. How it would work is unclear, but the goal is clearly to improve job placement and push students towards careers with higher probability for loan repayment.

“Accelerate Program Completion” – Graduating earlier means lower overall costs, but according to the National Center for Education Statistics only 60% of students complete a bachelor’s degree with six years of attending. The White House is proposing additional adoption of “prior learning assessments,” which take into account prior work, military, and educational experience students may have gained before college and applying academic credit. This way someone with four years of military service could potentially graduate from college earlier, testing out of some required academic credits.

“Support Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCU’s) – The White House proposes that “Congress should make permanent the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCU’s and the Interagency Working Group responsible for improving the capacity of HBCU’s to continually improve the identity, visibility, distinctive capacity, and overall competitiveness of HBCUs.”

“Encourage Responsible Borrowing” – The White house is proposing straight caps on Parent and Grad PLUS loans, limiting the amount that can be borrowed while simultaneously providing additional guidance and required counseling to borrowers.

“Simplify Student Aid” – This would consolidate the five income-driven repayment plans into one, capped at 12.5% of discretionary income, extend student loan forgiveness, and allow the Dept. of Treasury to automatically provide tax data to the Dept. of Education.

“Support Returning Citizens” – The White House is asking Congress to provide financial aid specific to prisoners eligible for release to improve employment rates.

“Give Prospective Students More Meaningful and Useful Information about Schools and Programs” – Currently the data available to students through the Department of Education is at the institution level, such as tuition costs and graduation dates. The White House is looking for more granular data so students can better compare programs across schools.

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