November 10, 2021
noon
February 9, 2021
12:00-1:00 pm CT
November 12, 2020
12:00-1:00 PM CT
Student Loan Updates: Preparing for Repayment
You can watch the short presentation here:
Student Loan Debt Relief:
What Do We Know?
The economic challenges from the pandemic have drawn added attention to student loan debt relief. There are various approaches to address the $1.7 trillion of national student loan debt or reduce loan default: employer-sponsored repayment, public service loan forgiveness, income-based repayment plans, deferment, refinancing, loan consolidation and in particular loan forgiveness.
What do we know about who is most affected by student loan debt and how these proposals impact their financial standing? What are the tradeoffs with these various remedies? What short, medium, and long-term impacts should we consider as borrowers, financial specialists or policymakers? The Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt in partnership with the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted an expert panel to help us understand the equity implications of these different approaches on February 9, 2021 from 12:00 to 1:30pm CT.
Panelists on the webinar included:
Nicholas Hillman, Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jack Porter, Policy Analyst for the National Governors Association
Kat Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center
Student loan debt issues for Veterans:
What do we know about the challenges and barriers?
GI Bill educational benefits for eligible veterans provide generous financial support for qualified postsecondary programs and yet nearly half of all student veterans do not utilize these benefits. Furthermore, undergraduate student veterans borrow roughly the same amount of money, whether or not they use these benefits. The percentage of student veterans who borrow continues to grow and now most student veterans borrow during the course of their degrees. What do we know about the distinct challenges faced by veterans who return to school? How well do traditional higher education models fit the needs of student veterans? How does student loan debt impact their college experiences and their futures after college?
This webinar brings together a panel of veterans affairs and college financial aid experts who will share insights from their work with student veterans and offer advice on how student veterans can minimize their student loan debt.
August 26, 2020
11:00am-1:00 pm CT
Racial Disparity and its Impact on Student Loan Borrowing
The Center for Financial Security, in partnership with the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, and the Urban League of Greater Madison, hosted this event on August 26, 2020 from 11am – 1pm CT.
Student loan debt has grown to over $1.7 trillion in the United States. Over 45 million Americans have student loans, and over 9 million—20%— student loan borrowers are in default. Student loans significantly impede people’s ability to save for retirement, buy a home, or start a family or business. The burden—and impact—of student loan debt disproportionately affects borrowers of color. And this burden has been exponentially exacerbated by recent COVID crisis.
June 9, 2020
10:00am-11:30 AM
The COVID19 Crisis and Student Loans
The Center for Financial Security (CFS), in collaboration with the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Loan Debt (WCSD) and Ascendium Education Solutions, Inc., hosted a webinar
The COVID19 pandemic has created a whole new set of challenges for student loan borrowers with the significant disruption it has caused to people’s work, school, health, and families.
Special COVID19-related relief—which includes the temporary suspension of payments and collections—exists for many borrowers. But many borrowers do not know about such relief, how it benefits them, or where they can turn for more information. Borrowers who lack information may struggle to repay their loans amidst the host of COVID19 disruptions they are facing, and are particularly vulnerable targets for fraudulent schemes like those aimed at getting borrowers to pay for relief given automatically. Presenters on the webinar provided:
Real-world stories about how COVID19 impacts borrowers and the difficulties borrowers experience in their efforts to understand COVID19-related relief;
Information about fraudulent student loan debt relief companies—including how to identify them and where to report suspected fraud; and
An overview of COVID19-related relief and information about where borrowers can go to learn more.