Grace Period Gone for Federal Loans
Although congress voted last minute to keep interest rates on student loans from doubling, the 6 month grace period — as well as the grace period for students seeking advanced degrees — went away on Sunday. Students will now be responsible for paying the interest on their loans immediately after graduation, and those students completing graduate work will be required to pay the interest on their loans as they take classes.
A D.C. judged ruled in favor of For-Profit institutions, calling the new regulations established by the Department of Education “arbitrary and capricious”, saying they “lacked a reasoned basis”. The regulations stated “at least 35% of recent graduates are repaying their loans; loan payments eat up no more than 12% of graduates’ average annual earnings; or payments consume no more than 30% of graduates’ average discretionary income”. For-profits that failed to meet the measures would have lost access to federal loans in 2015.
Student Sued for Being Smart and Speedy
The School of Economics and Management in Essen, Germany is suing former student Marcel Pohl for $3,772 for finishing both a BA and a MA in just three semesters. The university wants to regain tuition they feel they lost out on by Pohl finishing ahead of schedule.
Washington and Wisconsin Receive No Child Left Behind Waivers
Washington and Wisconsin join 26 other states that have received No Child Left Behind waivers by the Obama administration. The waivers are given in exchange for the states to improve their current evaluation methods. The Department of Education says the waivers are temporary measures until No Child Left Behind can be rewritten to address concerns from Congress and educators alike.
