Recently, a Democratic senator from Colorado called for the government to establish an ombudsman office in order to deal with privately-originated student loans. Michael Bennet said that currently such an office exists for federally-originated loans, which allows students to lodge complaints.
“Colorado students need to stay focused on books, not bills, and we need to give them the help they need to make that happen,” Bennet said.
Along with being able to lodge complaints, the ombudsman for private student loans would be able to act as a liaison for students and parents through working with schools and lenders. The new office would come care of the Private Education Loan Ombudsman Act.
The act has been co-sponsored by a number of other Democratic senators, including Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, Maryland’s Barbara Mikulski and Minnesota’s Al Franken.
According to the most recent numbers from the Project on Student Debt, the average amount owed in student loans by people who graduated in 2008 was $23,200, compared to $18,650 in 2004. Increases in student debt have averaged 6 percent every year since 2004.
Along with reporting the average amount of student debt, the project indicated that there is a lack of reported information regarding privately-originated student loans, and called both schools and the government to provide more complete data on such loans.
“More reliable information from all colleges about federal and private loan borrowing would help policymakers and college officials limit the burden of student debt,” said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, which plays host to the project.
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