Higher Ed Watch: Publications, Events and More

Subprime Student Loan Crisis | NHPR

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:46:00 -0500

The New America Foundation's Stephen Burd has been investigating the for-profit college industry for The Washington Monthly and joins us with more on what ...

Continuing Ed: For-Profits | New York Times

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:14:00 -0400

... so your life isn't ruined even if you fail out,” says Stephen Burd, editor of the New America Foundation's Higher Ed Watch blog. ...

The Subprime Student Loan Racket

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:57:00 -0400

Student Loan Law Could Change | Bismarck Tribune

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:56:00 -0400

The public-private arrangement made sense 40 years ago when the government needed local banks to handle lending across the country, said Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation, a nonprofit policy institute. Changes in technology and regulations have since it possible for the government to lend directly. ... Original Article

Should the Federal Student Loan Program Be Changed? | The Kansas City Star

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:49:00 -0400

House to Vote on Bombshell Higher Ed Bill | Education Week News

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:43:00 -0400

Over at the New America Foundation's Higher Education blog, Stephen Burd has much more on the dynamics in the Senate. It's not clear that the Senate will ...

Back to School for Student Loans | National Journal

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:54:00 -0400

Firing back at the Republicans, Jason Delisle wrote in Higher Ed Watch, a blog at the New America Foundation, that the revised CBO estimate at the very least confirms that direct lending is significantly cheaper than the FFEL program, even if by a smaller margin than first thought. Delisle, who supports Miller’s bill, was formerly a Republican staffer on the Senate Budget Committee. ... Original Article

Obama's Real Reform | Rolling Stone

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:32:00 -0400

"The student-loan industry is as close as you can get to letting industry set their own subsidy rates," says Jason Delisle, a veteran Republican budget staffer who now directs the Federal Education Budget Project for the nonpartisan New America Foundation. "Congress was writing these subsides into law, and the lobbyists encourage them to make it as high as possible." ... Original Article

Today Student Loans, Tomorrow Health Care | National Review Online

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:13:00 -0400

... and pocket the difference all day,” says Jason Delisle, director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation. ...

Cut the Middleman Out of Student Lending, Report Says | Chronicle of Higher Education

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:15:00 -0400

... to administer bank-based student loans have evolved into inefficient middlemen that waste taxpayer money, the New America Foundation said today. ...

New America Releases In-Depth Report on Federal Student Loan Guaranty Agencies

Communications — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:54:00 -0400

WASHINGTON, DC--Today the New America Foundation's Education Policy Program released "Rethinking the Middleman: Federal Student Loan Guaranty Agencies," by Benjamin Miller. The policy paper provides an overview of the history and current responsibilities of guaranty

Rethinking the Middleman

Education Policy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:00:00 -0400

Each year, the federal government guarantees billions of dollars in loans disbursed through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, a public-private partnership that provides financial aid to students attending institutions of higher education. Despite the significant investment of taxpayer dollars, the actual administration of the FFEL Program is largely handled by participating lenders and a group of 35 non-federal guaranty agencies across the country. Guaranty agencies perform a number of administrative functions, such as disbursing federal default insurance provided to private lenders issuing FFEL loans, preventing loan default, and collecting or rehabilitating loans that borrowers have failed to repay.

Lenders' Last-Ditch Gambit | Inside Higher Ed

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:05:00 -0400

Analysts at the New America Foundation, which takes a generally skeptical view of the student loan industry and has editorialized in favor of the Obama plan, questioned some of the principles underlying the lenders' alternative proposal.

Compensation in the Spotlight | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:25:00 -0400

"The Bush administration basically stopped paying attention," said Stephen Burd, editor of the Higher Ed Watch blog at New America Foundation, a public-policy institute. "They gave them the green light to do whatever they wanted." Original article

College Board Puts Off Plan for New Test for 8th Graders | Inside Higher Ed

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:13:00 -0400

During the Bush Administration, the Education Department signaled approval for some lender policies that then-Education Secretary Margaret Spellings halted in 2007, according to an investigation by the New America Foundation's Higher Ed Watch blog. ...

School of Hock | The Washington Independent

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:55:00 -0400

Public policy think tank New America Foundation pointed out in an online article Kanjorski's personal interest in keeping this lending powerhouse healthy; earlier this month, it shifted several hundred jobs into his eastern Pennsylvania district. ...

Student Loan Industry Fighting to Avoid Extinction

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:22:00 -0400

“We haven’t seen anywhere near the final act in terms of lobbying,” said Stephen Burd, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. “This is just the overture.” Original article (subscription required)

Fiscal 2010 Budget Battle Looms Over Student Lending | CQ Today

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:05:00 -0400

Department of Education officials say the direct lending program is better at preventing default and provides a higher level of customer service to students. At a New America Foundation discussion Tuesday, Bob Shireman, an advisor to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said the direct lending program would be a better deal for taxpayers. Original article (subsription required)