For-Profit Lenders

Repeat after us: There is no federal student loan crisis. There is zero danger that federal Stafford loans will not be available in the foreseeable future. Zero danger. At some point in the future, there may be a squeeze on private student loan availability for some high risk borrowers, particularly those attending proprietary schools of questionable quality and limited track record as opposed to all proprietary schools. Should a large private student loan access issue arise, extending even beyond proprietary schools, there are options for federal action to ensure the availability of capital. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Yesterday's blog post on Higher Ed Watch argued that legislation under consideration by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate does not go far enough in confronting conflicts of interest between colleges and lenders. …

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.

They may share little more in common than the name Lord, but Isiah Lord Thomas (his given name), the much-maligned general manager and coach of the New York Knicks, and Al Lord, the oft-criticized Chief Executive Officer and former Chairman of Sallie Mae, are sitting on seats hot enough to…

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.

When student loan giant Sallie Mae announced on Monday that it was removing Al Lord, the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), from his position as Executive Chairman of the board a little more than a month after he took the job, it went to great lengths…

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.

Santa has some tough decisions to make this Christmas. We've decided to help him out with our own list of who's been naughty and who's been nice this year in higher education.

Let us know who, if anyone, you think should be added to the list…

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.

Yesterday, we wrote that officials in Iowa are investigating whether aggressive marketing practices by the largest student loan provider in the state, and the cozy relationships it has developed with area colleges, have pushed students to take on unnecessarily high levels of expensive private student-loan debt. Specifically, Iowa's…

Note: This post pre-dates Higher Ed Watch's shift to a new publishing system. For the complete original post, including any comments, please click here.