From Burden to Balance: Investigating the Short-Term Effects of a Student Loan Repayment Program

• In Event: Funding Futures: Unpacking the Complexities and Limitations of Financial Aid and Philanthropy

Abstract

In 2023, 46 million borrowers owed a total of $1.73 trillion in student loan debt with 16 percent of borrowers in default. Researchers from uAspire and University of Massachusetts, Boston, responded to this significant public policy problem by crafting an implementation study – a scalable loan repayment curriculum – at the nexus of theory and practice. The intervention will include: 100 borrowers who had recently finished an undergraduate degree; content on student loan fundamentals, preparing for repayment, and planning for long-term financial health; and outcome data on participants’ repayment activities and self-assessed financial wellness. This paper will include preliminary findings and recommendations for how postsecondary institutions could adopt this course to better prepare student loan borrowers for repayment and financial health.

Authors

• Monnica Chan, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Jonathan S. Lewis, uAspire

• Alyssa Stefanese Yates, uAspire