Banks lose, students win

All eyes were focused on the passage of the health care bill last week, but within the reconciliation bill that passed were some key education provisions – including restructuring the federal student loan program and greater investment in Pell grants.  

The approved legislation effectively removes private banks from the federal student loan equation. Direct-lending by the federal government will take the place of lending by private banks. This move is expected to save $61 billion over 10 years, with much of that money to be invested in higher education. This legislation increases the maximum size of Pell grant awards, with increases tied to inflation, and eases the debt burden of students participating in the Income-Based Repayment Program. Those students in the Income-Based Repayment Program will pay 10% (down from 15%) of their income towards their loans and debts will be forgiven after 20 years (down from 25 years).

For more information on these changes: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/safra_minorities.html

Overcoming the Barriers to College

Over the past 30 years, college-going has increased for all groups of students – that’s good news. The bad news is that there are still huge gaps in the rates of college attendance between groups of students. Students who would be first in their family to attend college, low-income students and students of color enroll in college at far lower rates than their peers. Even the highest-achieving, low-income students enroll in four-year colleges at about half the rate of high-achieving high-income students.

So what are the barriers to college enrollment for low-income and other underrepresented students and how can Breakthrough programs help students overcome these barriers? This month’s research brief – Barriers to College for High Achieving Students – describes the research and best practices that Breakthrough programs should consider when designing and implementing high school support services that will best prepare their students to apply to and enroll in selective four-year colleges.