Education Department Urges Colleges to Aid Student Loan Borrowers as Collections Resume
The department emphasized that while borrowers are primarily responsible for repaying loans, colleges play a key role in improving repayment outcomes. Institutions are urged to ensure former students understand their obligations and can access StudentAid.gov accounts for resources. The department will publish nonrepayment rates by institution on the Federal Aid Data Center later this month, using College Scorecard data to promote accountability.
"As we begin to help defaulted borrowers back into repayment, we must also fix a broken higher education finance system that has put upward pressure on tuition rates without ensuring that colleges and universities are delivering a high-value degree to students," said Education Secretary Linda McMahon. "For too long, insufficient transparency and accountability structures have allowed U.S. universities to saddle students with enormous debt loads without paying enough attention to whether their own graduates are truly prepared to succeed in the labor market."
Under the Higher Education Act, colleges with high cohort default rates risk losing eligibility for federal aid, including Pell Grants and loans. The department called for proactive outreach to delinquent or defaulted borrowers before June 30, 2025, to address loans not in deferment or forbearance.
The resumption of involuntary collections affects approximately 195,000 defaulted borrowers, who will receive 30-day notices from the Treasury Department starting Monday. These notices indicate federal benefits, including June checks, will be subject to the Treasury Offset Program. By summer, all 5.3 million defaulted borrowers will face administrative wage garnishment.
The Federal Student Aid office is bolstering support with extended call center hours and increased capacity to guide borrowers toward income-driven repayment plans, loan rehabilitation, or affordable payments. Resources are available at StudentAid.gov/end-default. Guaranty agencies are also authorized to resume collections on Federal Family Education Loan Program loans, with all actions adhering to legal requirements for notice and repayment opportunities.
The department's guidance reflects a broader push for transparency in higher education, leveraging repayment data to ensure colleges prioritize student success and financial literacy. Institutions' engagement with borrowers will be critical to maintaining federal funding eligibility.
Originally published on University Herald
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
30-06-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Dismantles Syria Sanctions Program As Israel Ties Eyed
President Donald Trump on Monday formally dismantled US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership. Trump lifted most sanctions against Syria in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa ended a half-century of rule by the Assad family. In an executive order, Trump terminated the "national emergency" in place since 2004 that imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria, affecting most state-run institutions including the central bank. "This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Brad Smith, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions, said the move "will end the country's isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbors in the region as well as from the United States." The order, released by the White House, said that Syria has been "transformed" since the fall of Assad, including through "positive actions taken by the new Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa." The orders still maintain sanctions on elements of the former government, including Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia late last year. Syria recently carried out its first electronic transfer through the international banking system since around the time it descended into a brutal civil war in 2011. Israel kept pounding military sites in its historic adversary after the fall of Assad and initially voiced skepticism over the trajectory of its neighbor under Sharaa, who was formerly linked to Al-Qaeda. But Israel said earlier Monday that it was interested in normalizing ties with Syria as well as Lebanon in an expansion of the so-called "Abraham Accords," in what would mark a major transformation of the Middle East. Iran's clerical state's once strong influence in Syria and Lebanon has declined sharply under pressure from Israeli military strikes since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivize overtures by Israel. Israel's intensive attacks on Iran in June opened a "window that has never existed," said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who serves as Trump's pointman on Syria. "It's an opportunity that we have never, ever seen, and this president's put together a team that can actually get it done," Barrack told reporters. Despite the upbeat picture of the new Syrian leader, the country has seen a series of major attacks against minorities since the fall of Assad, a largely secular leader from the Alawite minority sect. At least 25 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suspected Islamist attack against a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus on June 22. Until Trump's surprise announcement of sanctions relief during a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United States had insisted on progress first in key areas including protection of minorities. The United States still classifies Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that could take longer to lift and which also severely discourages investment.
Int'l Business Times
08-05-2025
- Int'l Business Times
What Is In The New US-UK Trade Deal?
The "breakthrough" US-UK trade deal announced Thursday by President Donald Trump is the first agreement to be unveiled since he slapped steep tariffs on allies and adversaries alike on April 2. Here is what we know about the new trade deal for goods: The 10 percent "baseline" tariff imposed on most US trading partners in early April remains in effect for most goods, with the largest reductions in trade barriers coming on items recently subjected to new sector-specific tariffs of 25 percent. The new deal includes "billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports," Trump said during the Oval Office announcement, which was attended by Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to the United States. The agreement will bring in an additional $6 billion to the Treasury Department's coffers from new tariff revenue, the White House said in a statement. The deal is sure to be closely scrutinized ahead of the Trump administration's self-imposed July deadline for talks, with some nations facing a far higher rate of tariffs if no deal is struck. "This was the lowest hanging fruit available to the administration," Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council, told AFP. "It sends the message that negotiations are going to be complicated going forward," he added. "Because the UK situation is unique in many ways and will be hard to replicate for other countries." The British automotive industry is a clear winner. The sector, which employs a quarter of a million people in the United Kingdom, was facing 27.5-percent tariffs before this announcement, according to a statement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office. Under the deal announced Thursday, car export tariffs will be slashed to 10 percent on the first 100,000 cars shipped from Britain to the United States. This is "almost the total" the UK exported to the United States last year, the British prime minister's office said. Any UK-produced cars imported to the United States above the 100,000 figure will face a 25 percent tariff instead, the White House said. Another key development in the deal is the agreement from the United States to eliminate its recently-imposed levies of 25 percent on UK-made steel and aluminum, according to the British government. The new agreement "furthers shared national security interests, creating a new union for steel and aluminum," the US Commerce Department said, without confirming the zero percent tariff rate. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the elimination of all steel and aluminum tariffs. Trump said the new agreement would create a new $5 billion "opportunity" for US farmers, ranchers and producers, including $700 million in ethanol exports, and $250 million in other agricultural exports, including beef. Agricultural exports from the United States have long been a key sticking point in trade negotiations, with British farmers -- and consumers -- voicing concerns about chlorine-washed chicken, and hormone treated beef from the United States. The two countries have agreed to "new reciprocal market access for beef -- with UK farmers given a tariff free quote for 13,000 metric tonnes," according to the British prime minister's office. The agreement will "exponentially increase our beef exports," US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters. Despite the new and expanded US access to British markets, "there will be no weakening of UK food standards," Downing Street said. Trump's threats to impose pharmaceutical tariffs have not been covered by this arrangement, other than a commitment from the White House to create "a secure supply chain for pharmaceutical products." "I think that it tells people that in terms of negotiation, what's on the table is what is actually implemented, not what's being threatened," said Lipsky from the Atlantic Council. Another key area not covered by the agreement is digital services, with the White House keen to tackle a recent digital services tax imposed by Britain on US tech giants like Google and Meta. "Instead the two nations have agreed to work on a digital trade deal that will strip back paperwork for British firms trying to export to the US -- opening the UK up to a huge market that will put rocket boosters on the UK economy," Downing Street said.
Int'l Business Times
06-05-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Education Department Urges Colleges to Aid Student Loan Borrowers as Collections Resume
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Education Department issued a "Dear Colleague Letter" to colleges and universities Monday, reinforcing their role in supporting student loan borrowers under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The guidance, released as involuntary collections on federal student loans resume after a pandemic-era pause, underscores institutions' responsibility to help graduates manage repayment amid rising college costs. The department emphasized that while borrowers are primarily responsible for repaying loans, colleges play a key role in improving repayment outcomes. Institutions are urged to ensure former students understand their obligations and can access accounts for resources. The department will publish nonrepayment rates by institution on the Federal Aid Data Center later this month, using College Scorecard data to promote accountability. "As we begin to help defaulted borrowers back into repayment, we must also fix a broken higher education finance system that has put upward pressure on tuition rates without ensuring that colleges and universities are delivering a high-value degree to students," said Education Secretary Linda McMahon. "For too long, insufficient transparency and accountability structures have allowed U.S. universities to saddle students with enormous debt loads without paying enough attention to whether their own graduates are truly prepared to succeed in the labor market." Under the Higher Education Act, colleges with high cohort default rates risk losing eligibility for federal aid, including Pell Grants and loans. The department called for proactive outreach to delinquent or defaulted borrowers before June 30, 2025, to address loans not in deferment or forbearance. The resumption of involuntary collections affects approximately 195,000 defaulted borrowers, who will receive 30-day notices from the Treasury Department starting Monday. These notices indicate federal benefits, including June checks, will be subject to the Treasury Offset Program. By summer, all 5.3 million defaulted borrowers will face administrative wage garnishment. The Federal Student Aid office is bolstering support with extended call center hours and increased capacity to guide borrowers toward income-driven repayment plans, loan rehabilitation, or affordable payments. Resources are available at Guaranty agencies are also authorized to resume collections on Federal Family Education Loan Program loans, with all actions adhering to legal requirements for notice and repayment opportunities. The department's guidance reflects a broader push for transparency in higher education, leveraging repayment data to ensure colleges prioritize student success and financial literacy. Institutions' engagement with borrowers will be critical to maintaining federal funding eligibility. Originally published on University Herald
