New Developments

Last month, the Project on Student Debt co-hosted a symposium with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. It was a standing-room-only success, and leading researchers and policy experts introduced several innovative proposals in response to rising student debt levels.

View the press release

View the agenda and materials

We also wanted to tell you about a new web site calling attention to the issue of student debt. Student Debt Alert is building a "Student Debt Yearbook," with personal testimony from student borrowers across the country. Over 1,500 entries have been submitted in less than three weeks, and students are organizing campus activities that address debt issues.

There has been a wave of media coverage about student debt in the last few weeks. Our newsroom is constantly updated with the latest developments. As public awareness and concern increases, so do our chances of developing and advancing solutions in the new year. We hope you'll stay tuned as we build on the momentum that has gathered around this issue, and thank you for your support.

The Project on Student Debt

(This announcement was sent to the Project on Student Debt mailing list on December 8, 2005. The following is the agenda and materials from the Symposium.)

Agenda

9:45 a.m.	Registration
10:00	Welcome:		Kevin A. Hassett, AEI
10:15	Panel I: Investing in Human Capital—Are College Students Borrowing too Much, or Not Enough?
	Presenters:		Sandy Baum, The College Board
			Alicia C. Dowd, New England Resource Center for Higher Education
	Respondents:		Tamara Draut, Demos
			Allan Carlson, Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society
	Moderator:		Robert Shireman, Project on Student Debt
	Materials:		Manageable Student Debt: Developing Benchmarks (Powerpoint presentation by Sandy Baum and Saul Schwarz)
			How Much Debt is Too Much? Developing Benchmarks for Manageable Student Debt (Report by Sandy Baum and Saul Schwarz)
			The Effects of Loans on College Enrollment Decisions (Alicia Dowd)
			Income and Financial Aid Effects on Persistence and Degree Attainment in Public Colleges (Alicia Dowd)
			"Anti-Dowry?": The Effects of Student Loan Debt on Marriage and Child-Bearing (Report by Allan Carlson)
			Putting Student Loan Debt in Context: The Economic Landscape Facing Today's Young Adults (Powerpoint presentation, Tamara Draut)
11:45	Luncheon
12:10 p.m.	Panel II: Can the Federal Investment in Student Loans Accomplish More?
	Discussants:		Douglas J. Elliott, Center on Federal Financial Institutions
			Sarah Ducich, Sallie Mae
			Robert Shireman, The Institute for College Access and Success
	Moderator:		Kevin A. Hassett, AEI
	Materials:		Budget Cost of Student Loans (Powerpoint presentation, Douglas J. Elliott)
			Student Loans: A Budget Primer (Report, COFFI)
			Student Loans: Modeling Federal Costs (Report, COFFI)
1:30	Break
1:45	Panel III: Are There Solutions to Be Found on the Tax Side of the Ledger?
	Presenters:		Thomas J. Kane, Harvard Graduate School of Education
			Susan Dynarski, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
	Respondent:		Tom Wolanin, Institute for Higher Education Policy
	Moderator:		Frederick M. Hess, AEI
	Materials:		Tax Incentives for Education (Powerpoint presentation, Susan Dynarski)
			An Income Contingent Student Loan Tax Credit (Thomas Kane)
			Forward-Looking Means-Testing with a Student Loan Tax Credit (Powerpoint presentation, Thomas Kane)
3:15	Closing Remarks
3:30	Adjournment