Seeking to understand and bring together unlikely alliances to discuss the nature of the student debt crisis and the best solutions.
Convergence Center for Policy Resolution co-convened a short from Dialogue in partnership with
The Brookings Institution’s Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
The Vision
Today, student debt and financing higher education is a topic of great debate. There have been significant conversations around Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) as a possible means of alleviating the burden on student borrowers.
This short-form Dialogue, moderated by Convergence, was not intended to reach consensus — and didn’t. Instead, we aimed to build a productive conversation among opposing stakeholders about issues related to student debt and higher education financing, with the goal of building understanding and illuminating participants’ core values.
The Problem
Opposing sides in the student loan repayment debate are often unable to agree (or sometimes, even communicate). Student advocacy organizations called for partial or complete forgiveness of loans; on the other hand, economics argued that the nation could not afford to provide relief for over $1 trillion. A proposed solution to student loan debt is Income-Drive Repayment, which allows payments to be based on the borrower’s level of income. Currently, most student loan repayment plans do not consider the borrower’s ability to repay.
TRILLION
$
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The current federal loan balance and student loan debt accounts for 92.7% of it.
$
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Amount the average public university student borrows in order to attain a bachelor’s degree.
TRILLION
$
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Amount the average public university student borrows in order to attain a bachelor’s degree.
Project Outcome
After the conclusion of the Dialogue, two participants with vastly different perspectives on the issue published a report outlining key points related to IDR and the pros and cons of the various solutions to address them.
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