Dive Brief:
- Congress has less than a month to take action saving the Perkins Loan program, which is set to expire Sept. 30, removing one option for low-income students.
- Critics say the government has too many separate loan programs and that Higher Education Act reauthorization should include consolidating them and saving money.
- Inside Higher Ed reports cost estimates of the program are misleading since the government hasn’t put any new money in since 2004, keeping the program running with income from Perkins recipients paying back their loans.
Dive Insight:
Republican leaders of education committees in the House and Senate have both indicated support for scrapping the Perkins Loan program. Any action to save the program would have to originate in these committees. Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, argued in an op/ed that the Perkins Loan program is a perfect example of a program doing what these education committee leaders want: holding schools accountable for student outcomes. Colleges pay at least one-third of the loan amounts, getting their money back only if students do not default.