A New Jersey state commission focused on college affordability unveiled a report last week urging the state’s controversial student loan agency to offer better protections for borrowers.
Over 18 months, the commission received testimony from students and families, including many who shared their frustration with the lending practices of the state agency, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or HESAA.
“We got an earful and we tried to come out with suggestions that really go back to HESAA,” said Frederick Keating, the president of Rowan College at Gloucester County and the chairman of the affordability commission.
A state senate committee also passed legislation last weekthat would require the agency to change its lending practices.
In July, an investigation by ProPublica and the New York Times found that the New Jersey agency offers private loans with stringent terms and employs aggressive collection techniques to recoup delinquent debts.
The agency’s student loans carry higher interest rates than loans made by similar federal programs and repayment cannot be based on income. The agency can also seize wages, garnish state tax refunds, and take away professional licenses — all without getting a court judgment.
[For more of this story, written by Annie Waldman, go to https://psmag.com/loan-repayme...c72001f2e#.2idfzh1in]
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