Expanded loan forgiveness plan helps schools

A loan forgiveness program that helps Arizona schools attract math, science and special education teachers should be broadened to help rural and inner-city schools attract teachers with any specialization, a state lawmaker contends.

Just the facts

The Mathematics, Science and Special Education Teacher Student Loan Program, which took effect in 2008, is available to Arizona residents who attend one of state's three public universities. At present, participants must agree to provide instruction in math, science or special education at a public school in Arizona.

It offers loans that defray the costs of in-state tuition, instructional materials and mandatory fees. Recipients must repay the loan by teaching one year for each year of assistance received, plus an additional year. Those who fail to meet the teaching requirement must repay the loan.

Read the news on The East Valley Tribune.

When Student-Loan Refunds Come With a Fee

About 6,300 students at the City Colleges of Chicago have enrolled in a program that puts their student-loan refunds on debit cards, the Chi Town Daily News reported on Tuesday.

The catch is that students must pay a $2 fee each time they use the cards, which are issued by JPMorgan Chase. Talking with a bank teller costs cardholders $10, and checking their account balances costs $1.25, according to the Daily News.

Until recently, students received their refunds via paper checks, but problems with stolen and fraudulent checks prompted the the City Colleges to turn to JPMorgan Chase, the newspaper reported. Students may choose to receive the debit cards or have the money deposited directly into their accounts. —Eric Hoover

via news on Chronicle.

6,300 Students Pay High Fees to Access Student Loan Refunds

A controversial student loan program, in which students from the City Colleges of Chicago receive their federal student loan refunds on a pre-loaded debit card rather than through a traditional check, has already enrolled some 6,300 students despite students being charged high fees for using the card’s basic banking services, reports the Chi Town Daily News (“Controversial Chase Student Loan Program Enrolls 6,300,” Feb. 3, 2009).

The university system began offering the debit card system as an alternative to paper checks after the school system noticed a trend of students’ paper checks being stolen or fraudulently used. Students complained that they were forced to sign up for the debit cards and that the fees associated with the cards were slowly chipping away at their student loan refunds, which students generally rely on to pay for non-education related expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.

Students using the debit cards, offered by J.P. Morgan Chase, must pay for services — $1.25 to check their account balances, $2.00 to use the card for every transaction, and $10.00 to speak with a bank teller — that are typically offered free of charge to other Chase customers.

“With the high fees, having to do the withdrawals and having it cost so much, getting the card is not even worth it,” says Christopher Collier, a student senator at Wright College, one of the university system’s seven campuses.

To avoid paying any Chase banking fees, 1,700 students have opted to have their student loan refunds direct-deposited into their own bank accounts rather than choosing to sign up for the debit cards, but Collier says he still thinks that college administrators should make more of an effort to educate their students about all of their student loan refund options.

Student Loan Refund that come with fee

I’d rather direct from government loans. But this one takes the cake:

About 6,300 students at the City Colleges of Chicago have enrolled in a program that puts their student-loan refunds on debit cards, the Chi Town Daily News reported on Tuesday.

The catch is that students must pay a $2 fee each time they use the cards, which are issued by JPMorgan Chase. Talking with a bank teller costs cardholders $10, and checking their account balances costs $1.25, according to the Daily News.

In my university town, credit card vendors sign up students outside bars and ice cream shops.