The Problem of Student Loan Debt
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FINDING A WAY OUT: IMPROVING THE ASSISTANCE NETWORK FOR FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS December 2007 The Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project (SLBA) is a program of the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). 77 Summer Street, 10th Floor Boston, MA 02110 (617) 542-8010 www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org FINDING A WAY OUT: IMPROVING THE Written by: ASSISTANCE Deanne Loonin NETWORK FOR FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED December 2007 STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS Acknowledgments The views expressed in this report are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of its funders. This report is a release of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project [www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org]. The Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project is supported in part by The Project on Student Debt [www.projectonstudentdebt.org]. The author thanks Edie Irons and her colleagues at the Project on Student Debt for their valuable comments. Thanks also to Irv Ackelsberg, Carolyn Carter, Patricia Hasson, Patricia Smith and Mallory SoRelle for their substantive contributions and feedback. Although too numerous to list here, special thanks to all of the ombudsmen, financial aid directors, and other advocates who responded to our surveys and interview requests for this report. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................ 1 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO EXPAND ASSISTANCE FOR BORROWERS.. 4 INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT.............................................. 5 TYPES OF ASSISTANCE............................................................................................................................ 7 Information and Outreach ..................................................................................................................... 7 Counseling ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Direct Assistance and Legal Representation......................................................................................10 ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS......................................................................................................................11 Schools and Financial Aid Offices......................................................................................................11 Loan Holder Assistance........................................................................................................................13 Information and Counseling...........................................................................................................13 Loan Holder Direct Assistance......................................................................................................14 For-Profit “Student Loan Assistance” Businesses............................................................................21 Legal Assistance .....................................................................................................................................22 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................24 RECOMMENDATIONS TO EXPAND ASSISTANCE FOR BORROWERS..............................24 FINDING A WAY OUT: IMPROVING THE ASSISTANCE NETWORK FOR FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS December 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is a severe shortage of assistance resources for the growing population of financially distressed student loan borrowers. This report investigates the student loan borrower assistance network. We review the following critical categories of relief: information and outreach, counseling, and direct assistance and legal representation. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing resource providers in each of these categories, followed by recommendations for their improvement. Key topics and findings include: Types of Assistance: Information and Outreach Students and their families do not get enough information about loan programs before they borrow. Helping prevent problems by providing up-front information about the cost of student loans is critical. Prevention will not work for everyone and it is not a panacea. It is, however, a tremendously important step that can save many borrowers from falling into the often inescapable default spiral. Many borrowers also report lacking information after they borrow. Counseling The existing counseling requirements for federal loans are ineffective, simply one of many hoops students jump through to get their student aid checks. However, the poor track record of mandatory counseling should not obscure the potential benefits of targeted counseling for student loan borrowers. Early intervention is essential because the costs rapidly pile up once trouble begins. Student loan collectors are allowed to charge enormous collection fees that are not even tied to the amount of effort expended. At the same time, interest accrues and the borrower is hounded by collectors and faced with the prospect of never-ending collection efforts. Direct Assistance and Legal Representation Not all student loan problems can be resolved through information and counseling. Direct assistance is also needed, especially when borrowers have disputes with their loan holders. The importance of direct borrower assistance has grown along with the complexity of the student loan programs. 1 Assistance Providers Schools and Financial Aid Offices School financial aid offices have traditionally been the main resource that students and their families look to for information about borrowing. However, financial aid offices and schools have for the most part not been involved in helping their students deal with debt once they leave school. We found that very few schools, if any, provide systemic assistance for former students who need help with student loan repayment. Helping their former students avoid default is in the best interests not only of borrowers, but of schools as well. Lower default rates help schools avoid government-imposed sanctions and are a good selling point to attract incoming students. Loan Holders Besides routine account statements, most students only hear from their loan holders after they get into trouble. This is largely because most loan holders in the federal loan programs do not have financial incentives to intervene early when problems arise. Congress responded innovatively to this problem in part by giving the Department of Education the authority to develop and sign voluntary flexible agreements (VFAs) with guaranty agencies. The VFA model has shown very encouraging results. Yet, the Bush Administration has proposed to eliminate it in its last two budget plans, citing concerns about costs. The VFA model highlights the important ways in which loan holders can do more than just collect from borrowers. They can also be part of the solution in providing information and counseling assistance. Loan holders may also provide direct assistance, as many have done with ombudsman and customer advocate units. This report includes a survey of eleven ombudsmen and customer advocates units, including the federal ombudsman. The report highlights the helpful dispute resolution assistance offered by ombudsman offices. We strongly recommend that the federal ombudsman office continue to receive support and funding from Congress and the administration. However, there are limits to what ombudsman or customer advocates can do with respect to providing direct assistance. The key issues discussed in the report are: 1. Loan Holder Mediators Are Not Borrower Representatives. Loan holder ombudsmen work for and with loan holders. Although they can be neutral mediators, they are not and do not purport to be borrower representatives. There is an inherent limitation to this model related to the dependency relationship between guaranty agencies and lenders. A neutral mediator can help many borrowers, particularly those with less complex questions and certainly those that need basic information about their accounts. However, there are many situations where borrowers need advocates that are clearly on their side. This is particularly true in cases where there are varying interpretations of rules and regulations. In these situations, borrowers need representatives who will present the most aggressive 2 interpretation of the rules. Unless pushed, our experience is that the ombudsman and customer advocates will not take the most aggressive positions on behalf of borrowers. 2. Loan holders are also collectors. Even borrowers who wish to repay or exercise other rights are often shut out because of problems with overly aggressive and often abusive collection agencies. 3. Nonlawyer ombudsmen cannot provide legal advice. Nonlawyer advocates can provide very useful direct assistance for borrowers. Regulation of these services is essential to ensure that the advocates are accountable to consumers and that they have the appropriate level of expertise. However, there are limits to these services. Nonlawyers are prohibited from providing legal advice. Given the dearth of legal assistance for student loan matters, overreaching by nonlawyer advocates is understandable but not always helpful. Providing some assistance is not always better than none if the advice is inaccurate. Non-profit Credit Counselors There is potential to develop