The president’s debt forgiveness plan will help millions of borrowers slip through the cracks in a crumbling higher education system.

Each year, the federal government provides billions of dollars in loans to students pursuing college degrees or post-secondary qualifications. These loans are made under the guise of the higher education system. The higher education system remains affordable and functional, includes a practical and accurate repayment system, and provides access to quality institutions and avenues of economic opportunity. The outstanding student loan debt balance shows that this is no longer the case.

In an announcement last month, President Joe Biden said, “Education is the ticket to a better life…[but]over time, that ticket has become too expensive for too many Americans.” Stated.

College costs have outpaced inflation for decades, increasing by 63% from 2006 to 2016 alone. In addition, investment in Pell grants (financial aid to low-income students) has not kept pace, with the percentage of black students relying on Pell grants to attend college outstripping their white peers. impacts a higher proportion of

Pell grants used to cover 80% of the cost of attending a four-year public college, but now cover only 30%, according to the White House. As a result, low-income students and their families have turned to federal student loans to make up the difference. About 60% of student loan borrowers are Pell Grant recipients. Also, nearly 90% of his borrowers who failed to repay their loans received a Pell Grant. Pell grant recipients may not have had to borrow if Congress had done more to control college costs and preserve investments in grants and study aid.

perspective

every week

Opportunity to participate in this week’s top opinion content and weekly questions on topics impacting our region.

The president’s plan to write off some student loans would also help borrowers struggling with student loan repayment programs. Income Driven Repayment (IDR) allows the borrower to cancel the balance after he has made payments for 20 to 25 years and receive monthly payments based on a portion of his income. While the IDR certainly reduced monthly payments, many borrowers continued to see their loan balances grow because they didn’t make enough payments to cover the interest on their loans.

Moreover, due to administrative failures, borrowers who expected relief after more than 20 years simply did not. Under this program, the borrower can cancel the balance after he has worked in the public sector for the equivalent of 10 years. Still, after a 10-year waiting period, very few people received that relief.

For many borrowers, there is an inherent expectation that their dollars (taxpayer dollars) will go to quality institutions in the eyes of the federal government. But unfortunately not.

In part, the federal government relies on accrediting bodies to help measure college quality. However, not all certifiers perform their task well, and it can be difficult to completely remove certifiers from the system. For example, the Biden administration ultimately excluded her ACICS, the same for-profit accrediting agency tasked with overseeing schools such as Corinthian College and her ITT, from the higher education system.

There are other chapters in the Book of Qualified Failures. The president’s debt forgiveness plan has targeted the vast numbers of students who attended poor quality schools but failed to enjoy the economic rewards that a college education was supposed to provide, especially those who did not have degrees or qualifications. Regardless, it has the potential to help students who are in debt.

Some say it’s not a good use of resources given the cost of the president’s cancellation action. But as a nation, our greatest resource is not money, but our people. Biden’s plan will help his 43 million borrowers, the vast majority of whom are below his $75,000. And every investment we make in higher education equals an investment in opportunity for our students, their families, our communities, not to mention our economy as a whole. Biden’s plan to cancel student loans is the first step in a larger mission to keep the promise of higher education.

Jared Bass Senior Director of Higher Education at the Center for American Progress.he wrote this InsideSources.com.