Ivy Tech-Lafayette’s Director of Financial Aid says President Obama’s plans to make the burden of student debt a little lighter likely won’t have much of an impact on the community college or its students.
Bev Cooper says the executive order announced this week mainly benefits borrowers with higher debt relative to their income.
She says Ivy Tech students generally have a lower debt load because tuition costs less.
"This also appears to be more beneficial for students who are going to have a high income when they graduate from a four-year college," Cooper says. "Most students who graduate from a community college don't really have that high an income."
But Cooper says any help preventing borrowers from defaulting on their student loans is a good thing.
Colleges can be barred from receiving federal student aid if their two-year default rates are 25% or higher for three consecutive years.
Cooper says Ivy Tech-Lafayette’s default rate is just 8-percent, but the community college’s overall default rate statewide is closer to 20-percent.