Survey Reveals Biased Implementation of Student Loan Rule

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In public testimony today before the US Department of Education, Gerard Scimeca, Chairman of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE), released the results of a new survey of college students concerning student loan forgiveness.  It revealed overwhelming and irrefutable evidence that the student loan policy known as Borrower to Defense Repayment (BDR) has been used as a political tool to target proprietary colleges. 

The survey, along with a detailed policy paper, explains the history and recent implementation of "Borrower Defense to Repayment" (BDR) and was released during the US Department of Education Rulemaking Committee on Public Service Loan Forgiveness hearing.

"Our survey contains powerful and irrefutable evidence that BDR has been employed by liberal politicians solely to target proprietary colleges and ignore students from public and private schools," explained Scimeca.

Using Facebook and LinkedIn advertising, CASE operated a three-week awareness campaign through CollegeLoanFairness.com. The campaign targeted students and alumni of the five public or private universities with the most online students. Among the findings of the 1,200 respondents:

• Only 3% were even aware of BDR
• 82% said they were misled by their college or university
• 97% wanted to learn more about BDR

"These results clearly demonstrate that if BDR were applied evenly across all types of universities, many students from traditional schools would seek debt relief," Scimeca stated.

"This irresponsible, political weaponization of a little-known policy only leads to fewer college options for nontraditional students, less educational innovation due to suppressed competition, and long-lasting damage to our national economy that is in desperate need of skilled workers."

Learn more about the background of BDR and survey results at CollegeLoanFairness.com

SOURCE Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE)