On March 10, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum titled the Student Bill of Rights, directing the Department of Education and other government offices to help students afford student loan payments.
These steps include creating a complaint system to ensure accountability and analyzing student debt trends to recommend legislative changes.
The Student Bill of Rights is based on four principles that every student in America should have access to a high-quality, affordable higher education, should be able to easily find the resources they need to pay for college, should be able to choose an affordable repayment plan for student loans, and should receive quality customer service, reliable information, and fair treatment when repaying loans.
Obama is urging students and politicians to go to WhiteHouse.gov/CollegeOpportunity to sign the declaration.
In a March 11 conference call with college newspapers, Obama said that higher education remains one of the best investments you can make in your future and one of the best investments one can make in your country’s future.
“It’s never been more important and we have to prioritize it,” Obama said. “The economy is making progress. We’ve created 12 million new jobs over the past five years. But there’s a lot more that we can be doing to making sure that everybody can participate in prosperity and that we’ve got a growing and thriving middle class. A college degree is the surest ticket into that middle class.”
Obama said the average undergraduate student who borrows money to pay for college has to pay back about $28,000 worth of loans. His executive action “streamlines and improves the way the federal government interacts with students when it comes to student loans, helps students cut through the bureaucracy and get faster responses about their loans.”
Obama said, “I want every student to have access to a quality, affordable education at a college that’s lowering costs and increasing learning. Every student should be able to access the resources to pay for college. Every borrower has the right to an affordable repayment plan and every borrower has the right to quality customer service, reliable information and fair treatment even when they’re struggling to repay their loans.”
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the department provides repayment options to pay back loans depending on how much they earn but more needs to be done. The president’s memorandum suggests actions. Duncan said one of the actions is that by July 2016, the education department will develop a simple process for borrowers to file complaints involving aid. The department will also make sure that the banks that give students federal loans are held to high standards and provide better information to borrowers. The department will also make sure that loan fees are reasonable and that collectors are fair and creating an easier process for loan repayment.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that the 40 million Americans with student loans are aware of resources to help them manage their debt and we want to do everything we can to be responsive to their needs,” Duncan said.
Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell said the department is also planning to set up a complaint system where borrowers will report difficulties they’re having and a centralized database that will allow borrowers to see how much they owe. He said feedback about the Student Bill of Rights has been “enthusiastic.”
“I think what we’ve been hearing is, ‘Hurry up,” and we hear that and we want to move as quickly as possible to deliver on these issues, but we also want to make sure that what we do deliver is the absolute highest quality,” Mitchell said.
As Obama’s administration works to encourage colleges to bring costs down, Mitchell said that for private institutions, while not controlled by the federal government, will be incentivized to bring costs down by competition with other institutions and the visibility of their tuition prices. The department will also share the initiatives that are leading to lower prices with both public and private institutions.
“As we talk about pulling costs down, institutions are going to need to respond to other institutions that are bringing their cost down,” Mitchell said.
To find out more about federal student aid, visit studentaid.ed.gov.
