Category: Research/Policy

2022, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Politics, Research/Policy

Loan Cancellation or Pension Bailout? A Conundrum for the Pundits

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist In August 2022, the Biden Administration dropped a student loan cancellation program on the country. At a cost of over $400 million, the program was to cancel $10,000 of student loan debt from anyone with an income of under $125,000/year ($250k if married filing jointly). Another $10,000 for those who received a Pell Grant, which is … Continue reading Loan Cancellation or Pension Bailout? A Conundrum for the Pundits

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2022, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Politics, Research/Policy

Background Data on Student Debt in America

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist Since I wrote my piece on the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Reduction Plan last week, there has been a lot of information and fallout by colleagues and friends on the issue. Most people I know are on the positive side of the policy, saying that this is helpful for a lot of people who are … Continue reading Background Data on Student Debt in America

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2022, College Affordability, Financial Aid, Politics, Research/Policy

The Problem(s) with Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist Earlier today, the Biden Administration unleashed the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan (SLDRP?), a new series of policies aimed at reducing student loan burden for millions of current and past students across the country. My organization and hundreds (perhaps thousands) of others around the country have been diligently advocating for improvements to college access … Continue reading The Problem(s) with Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan

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2022, College Access, K12, Politics, Research/Policy, Student Success

College Access, Equity, and the Tower of Babel

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist NOTE: I wrote this before learning of the brutal elementary school shooting in Texas this week. Much of what I write here, about left and right, also applies to our inability to do anything about gun safety and control in the US. The tragedies will continue, unfortunately. I recently read Jonathan Haidt’s piece in The Atlantic, … Continue reading College Access, Equity, and the Tower of Babel

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2021, Research/Policy, ROI/College Outcomes, Workforce

A Reconsideration of the Three-Year Degree

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist In this morning’s InsideHigherEd.com, Emma Whitford writes about “A New Push to Create a 3-Year Degree Option.” In it, she quotes work by Penn Research Bob Zemsky and University of Minnesota researcher Lori Carrell on work they are doing on this issue. As Zemsky is quoted, “We did not ask people to commit to doing a three-year … Continue reading A Reconsideration of the Three-Year Degree

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