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One of the planks in President Joe Biden’s election campaign called for student loan debt forgiveness. Now, it seems the talk is turning to action.
The president signed an executive order extending a pause of student federal loan payments on his first day in office. Previously he expressed doubt he could cancel student loan debt on his own. However, with an evenly divided Senate, he is examining non-legislative options.
An Executive Order
Last week, Biden asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to determine if the president can use an executive order to wipe out student loan debt. Cardona’s report is due any day.
With Democrats now controlling Congress and the White House, higher education leaders in California are optimistic that the federal government could soon expand the amount of financial aid available to students.
Administrators and student governments at California’s public colleges and universities are pushing to increase the maximum amount of Pell Grant awards, the main source of federal financial aid available to low- and middle-income students, from about $6,500 to $13,000. The grants are awarded each year to millions of college students across the country who have financial need.
The UC president’s office and the UC Student Association recently launched a joint campaign to urge Congress to double the maximum amount of the Pell Grant. They were also part of a coalition of California higher education leaders who wrote a letter to California’s congressional delegation to ask them to prioritize that proposal. The systemwide chancellors for the 23-campus California State Unive
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Congress is poised to send another $40 billion in aid to the nation’s colleges and universities after the Senate approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Saturday.
The House is expected to pass the measure which contains the largest infusion of help to higher education approved by Congress during the pandemic as soon as Tuesday, sending it to President Biden for his signature.
Biden called the Senate’s passage of the bill “historic” and a “giant step forward” in providing help to Americans during the pandemic.
The money will be distributed to public and private institutions. Colleges and universities are required to spend at least half of the money on emergency grants to students. Whether undocumented and international students can get the help, however, still hasn t been decided by the Education Department.
Michelle Asha Cooper
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a slew of appointments to the Education Department, including well-known higher ed advocates, people who have worked on behalf of student loan borrowers, and several former aides to progressive Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Among those named was Michelle Asha Cooper, a longtime advocate for education equity. She was formally appointed as deputy assistant secretary for postsecondary education, and will serve as acting assistant secretary, as reported by
Inside Higher Ed Wednesday. She was most recently president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which advocates for colleges and universities to do more to help students succeed. In her new role at the department, she will be responsible for running day-to-day higher education operations but could have more influence on policy issues than prior officials in the role.
Biden Administration
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