student loans

The U.S. Education Department is creating a new office to protect federal student loan borrowers and to investigate scams in higher education. It sounds like something out of a Law & Order episode: the Student Aid Enforcement Unit. Among other things, the $13.6 million unit will probe schools that lie to prospective students about their graduation and job rates.

The federal government is poised to forgive college loans for thousands of students who attended Corinthian Colleges, the now defunct for-profit giant under investigation for misleading students about graduation and employment rates. Many of these students not only have loans, but are also unable to find jobs.

The U.S. Education Department has fined the for-profit giant Corinthian Colleges $30 million for recruiting students with inaccurate job placement rates.

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Earlier this month, the U.S. Education Department froze funding to Corinthian Colleges, one of the country's biggest for-profit higher education institutions, for reporting inaccurate job placement and graduation figures. Critics have long argued the for-profit industry misuses federal aid money at the expense of students and taxpayers. WGBH's On Campus took a closer look at the numbers.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is renewing her effort to help former college students pay back their student loan debt. 

Warren wants to bring high student loan interest rates down to the rates that are offered to new borrowers this year.

Earlier this week, WGBH’s On Campus caught up with the senator shortly after she left the floor of the Senate where she filed a bill to do just that. 

It’s that time of year when college-bound students are making tough choices about where they want to study and whether they can really afford it. It's no secret that the cost of college continues to increase, so understanding payment options is increasingly important.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is once again taking on college affordability. Her latest effort would allow students to refinance their college loans the same way you might refinance your mortgage or car payments.

The federal government has shut down, so now what? What does the gridlock in Washington mean for students and faculty in the land of higher ed? With no end in sight, here’s what we know so far.

U.S. student loan debt has reached $1.2 trillion and it continues to climb, according to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, lawmakers have begun rewriting higher education legislation to try to control college costs.