Dive Summary:
- Speaking at a College Savings Foundation summit Wednesday, David A. Bergeron, the Education Department's acing assistant secretary for postsecondary education, called attention to several recent efforts to promote transparency when it comes to financial aid and the cost of college, and hinted that more efforts were on the way.
- The department's recent focus has been on financial-counseling tools like net-price calculators, the College Scorecard and the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, as well as current income-based and income-contingent loan repayment options, and Bergeron said that with more tools coming in the spring, "there will be no reason for anyone ever to default on their loan."
- Wednesday's summit also featured discussions of 529 college-savings plans, with policy consultant Art Hauptman expressing concern over increasing dependence on loans and calling for both sides of the aisle to come together on policy reform.
From the article:
With the cost of college a matter of much public discussion, the federal government is asserting its commitment to consumer information, as a high-ranking Education Department official did on Wednesday at a summit organized by the College Savings Foundation. David A. Bergeron, the department's acting assistant secretary for postsecondary education, highlighted several recent efforts to promote transparency and help students and families make decisions on colleges. And he hinted at more efforts to come. ...