“They’re making every effort on every other front,” said Barmak Nassirian, vice president for higher education policy at Veterans Education Success, a bipartisan advocacy and research group focused on improving higher education quality for veterans and military families. “Even this IDR option will be somewhat better, but this is not the opportunity we thought we would have to really address the problem. The department is trying, and I appreciate that. It’s just not enough yet.”

Barmak noted chances for the public to comment on proposals out of rulemaking could be important ways for more borrowers to share their stories and possibly sway ED in another direction around IDR.

“I think the administration itself will need to do some soul-searching to see if what they are doing is adequate,” said Nassirian. “We’re not attempting to sell them a different set of goals. We’re hoping to help them with the goals they have already articulated.”

 

Read the full story here at Diverse Issues in Higher Ed.