On March 20th, the day President Trump signed an executive order to “shut down” the Department of Education, the best higher education officer under the Biden administration was at home wearing a grey sweatshirt and a resignation look.
“It’s hard to see,” says the former education department under the secretary. James Kvaal In an exclusive interview with Bankrate. “We are hoping for a policy change from one administration to the next, and we know that it is part of our system.”
This time it’s different. Since taking office, the Trump administration has held it. Forgiveness of targeted public service loans (PSLF), Blocked access to income-driven repayment plans It cuts almost half of the department’s staff. Then there was an order to completely dismantle it (eventually it would require Congressional acts).
“That’s difficult on a human level,” says Kvaal. “But I also shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
In our conversation, Kvaal expressed special concern about how wind changes will affect students and families pursuing higher education both near and far in the future.
Bankrate interview with James Kvaal on university payments
Q&A with Kvaal has been edited for length and clarity.
Since you’ve been on the sidelines for several months, how do you look back on your running as a secretary?
Much of what we did was try to strengthen the Ministry of Education as an institution and provide more promises that policymakers made to students. For example, in 2021, most students eligible to be allowed on loans through one of the department’s programs were unable to navigate bureaucracy. FafsaOf course, it was another very visible example of struggling to manage the program and struggling to get students the benefits of being qualified.
And the many changes we made to strengthen our organization — within half of the department that was just washed out the door by the Trump administration to bring a lot of expertise in technology, contract management and more. I’m worried (department) – I’m not trying to eliminate the low performance of individuals, but not the areas where departmental flaws contributed. FAFSA challenges And contributed to such a long-term problem Student Loan Program Other areas.
Has the Biden administration’s education sector ever considered cutting back to streamline the sector?
Certainly we did some of them. In fact, last summer, we were able to reorganize the FSA (Federal Student Aid) to better group key functions together, empowering and accountable senior management. I don’t think that’s what’s happening right now. The goal of this (new) administration is to close the department. So I don’t think these changes are being made with the goal of making the department more effective.
What does President Trump’s executive order say about how the new administration will handle federal student loan repayments?
We’ve heard a lot of skepticism from Republicans about whether student loan payments are higher. Forgiveness of public service loans Other benefits programs must also be generous. So, we haven’t seen any particular proposals yet, but I’m worried that the administration may not recognize the number of people who are really struggling with those loans.
The fundamental cause of the country’s $1.6 trillion education debt is how it is paid to schools in the first place. Mid-January OP-ED for Higher Ed Driveyou believed that former President Biden was “starting a new chapter” at the forefront of that. Putting the Trump administration aside, what? Should Does the next chapter look like this?
The sense around Washington is that there is an agreement to take a loan that many students know will be challenged to pay back… We need to find another How to pay for university This does not include relying heavily on debts not associated with higher incomes, particularly on debt (degree).
A big disagreement is when you take away the loan – do you put in other sources of funding too? Loans are not necessarily the right tool for helping low-income students raise gap funding and pay for those participating in public service professions. However, if you don’t use a loan, you need to invest Pell Grants and Tuition-free programs Other ways to make students access to higher education.
There are some good ideas that spread about blocking programs that prevent most students from paying off their loans. There may be some good ideas about investing in career technology education, and if those voices within the (Trump) administration become governing voices of management policies, there may be opportunities to advance there. But I don’t want to sound overly optimistic. It’s hard to hear optimism on the day President Trump signs an executive order to completely abolish the department.
How does that actually work when it comes to “cutting off” universities and universities for putting students into debt?
We saw very well what we call Debt vs. Revenuewhich meant that we would get actual data on the amounts borrowed by students. Number of graduates. And if the debt is consuming too much of (their) profit, you’ll think the program is out of hand. And at that point, there are various ways that universities can handle: they can increase scholarshipreduces tuition fees. They were able to shorten the program. They were able to invest in improving career outcomes. They were able to invest in improving student retention.
It’s really a way to identify programs that are at low end and by taking away the loan, which are more likely to make you worse than you hadn’t been to (to school). (It gives) the university provides incentives to improve the value it offers to students, at least on its very low level.
How about issues with students and their families view debt-qualified education as inevitable?
You need to realize that universities aren’t just about anything “ROI” for individual students As a result, loans are not the right way to pay the university all the time. Created by the Biden administration Financial Value Transparency (FVT) Frameworkit will let students know how much they can expect to borrow and how much they can earn for any program they plan to attend. And if these loans are deemed out of hand based on expert guidelines, they will also be warned about it.
(FVT) is a great step-off point for wider conversations and I don’t know if the Trump administration recognizes that the investment behind efforts to shut down these bad loans should arrive, but I have a lot of interest nationwide in investing in higher education. Finally, we’ve seen a state that invests more than before. Great recession…and I’ve seen open-ended programs in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado. New Mexico.
So, for all university students, we are turning the corner to the idea that we can rely on much higher amounts of debt, and the perception that some of these loans are not good investments and that we need more money to help students go to college.
So, if students don’t see the “financial value” of attending university, can they better skip a typical 4-year degree?
Well, we need more kinds of education after high school. I have a great belief in community colleges. This can provide a two-year technical degree that leads to work. Even a short certificate program is also an affordable way to earn a 4-year degree.
Continue reading: How to maximize learning while minimizing debt
Overall, all of the above, all of these degrees and certificates are required. The evidence shows that there is far more demand in the labor market for (more) expertise than what Americans have, so all these pathways need to be encouraged. While we should not encourage a four-year degree at the expense of students who want to join the workforce more quickly, we should invest in all of these options and fully encourage and raise the level of achievement in education.
Given everything we discussed, what do you tell current and future students and their families about how you navigate today’s challenge of paying for schooling?
The meaning (of the Trump administration) is sometimes not entirely clear – there are lawsuits – so there is more uncertainty than in the past.
What’s not uncertain is that for most students, university is a big investment. Students need to do research, not only assuming that the loan is a good investment because the federal government offers it. But I think it’s just as important as ever to continue education with financial support from the federal government, universities and other sources.
