Driftwood The community newspaper of the University of New Orleans
Volume: 58 Issue: 20
March 18, 2015
driftwood.uno.edu
A CALL TO ACTION Conference call with President Obama addresses Student Aid Bill of Rights Charles Nicholson Driftwood Staff
On March 11, the Obama Administration set up a conference call between senior administration officials and about 50 college reporters across the country as an effort to shed light on President Barack Obama’s new proposal he’s calling the “Student Aid Bill of Rights.” The Student Aid Bill of Rights is a memorandum intended to make the repayment process easier for college graduates as well as create a complaint system that will better interact with borrowers and ensure that any issues are resolved. “Higher education remains one of the best investments you can make in your future,” said Obama as he opened up the conference call. “but also one of the best investments you can make in your country’s future.” The call came right on the heels of the president’s speech at Georgia Tech University last Tuesday, where he spoke to a crowd of nearly 10,000 students about the importance of a college degree in regards to getting a well-paying job. During the call, the president touched on the state of the economy, saying that while it has been growing there are still improvements to be made. “We’ve got to encourage higher education...the problem is it’s never been more expensive,” said Obama. “Average undergraduate student who borrows money to pay for college is looking at about $28,000 [in] student loan debt and that’s just the average.” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said,“By July 2016, we will develop a state-of-the-art simple
process for borrowers to file complaints involving the federal student aid and to work with others across the administration on the best way to address those complaints.” Duncan, among many others, was tasked with drafting and implementing the plans to revamp the loan repayment system. “We’re raising the bar for debt collection to make sure that the fees charged to borrowers are reasonable, that collectors are fair, transparent and help student borrowers get back on track when they might need help.” WhiteHouse.gov has a fact sheet which outlines four tenets that the new bill of rights will follow: “Every student deserves access to a quality, affordable education at a college that’s cutting costs and increasing learning.” “Every student
should be able to access the resources needed to pay for college.” “Every borrower has the right to an affordable repayment plan.” “Every borrower has the right to quality customer service, reliable information and fair treatment, even if they struggle to repay their loans.” The site also lists the actions that will be taken to assist borrowers: “Create a responsive student feedback system.” “Help borrowers afford their monthly payments.” “Prioritize further steps to meet the needs of student borrowers.” Each bullet point is followed with specifics as to who will be involved in the process and how each task will be accomplished. These plans won’t function with the administration alone. They need
Congress to pass funding for the student aid in addition to state legislators and college presidents to hop aboard the program. “We want congressmen to sign up. We want state legislators and governors to sign up. We want administrators and college presidents to sign up, and students and parents,” said Obama. Secretary Duncan also stressed the importance of other parties reciprocating the deal. “We have to challenge states to reinvest in higher education. When we invest, we want to supplement, not supplant. Any programs we do...we would only invest in states that are holding their end of the bargain,” said Duncan. “We’re trying to be a good partner but challenging states to be a good partner as well.”
This new step in education reform comes as no surprise seeing how President Obama is a staunch supporter of making higher education affordable. At his 2015 State of the Union address, the president declared an initiative to abolish tuition for the first two years of community college. The plan is modeled after the “Tennessee Promise,” a program in Tennessee that would make the first two years of community or technical college tuition-free. The administration is looking to have quality education that can compete with countries such as Finland, Norway and Germany, whose colleges are tuition-free. The president will be fighting an uphill battle considering he has to pass both plans through the current Republican-dominated Congress. Here in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal is currently burdened with a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, which he plans to resolve with large cuts, much of them in higher education. Jindal recently revealed that state colleges and universities will be enduring $143 million in cuts, a large drop from the predicted $300 million, but still a damaging amount. These cuts come at a time when local schools have already been stripped bare and tuitions have been steadily on the rise. For more information on the Student Aid Bill of Rights, visit www. whitehouse.gov. For assistance in finding financial aid, visit studentaid.ed.gov. Illustration by Delvonte Smith
How concerned are you about paying off your student loan debt? Arie Sanders Junior, Accounting
Eduardo Trejo Sophomore, Business
“ I’m really not concerned about my debt because I don’t have much I need to pay back.”
“I have scholarships and TOPS so I’m not worried.”
Leah Vickman Senior, French & Spanish “I am concerned about paying off loans, however the loss is worth the gain in the future.”
Tyler Daniel Freshman, Mechanical Engineering “I’m not concerned because it will be handled eventually. I feel that Jesus will cover me. ”