With an education Income-Share Agreement (ISA), someone agrees to pay the costs of an education for someone else and, in return, the student agrees to pay a fixed percentage of future earnings instead of a set loan amount. If the student and prospective wage-earner lands a highly-compensated job, they can end up paying much more than had they taken out a regular, even private, student loan. As Forbes contributor Nick Morrison notes, for example, Britain has had an income percentage loan payment program since 1998. Criticisms of ISAs have frequently likened them to indentured servitude, wherein someone is required to pay off debt through future labor. At Purdue University for example, one of the first colleges to offer ISAs, they offer a handy calculator where students can estimate ISA obligations and options.

Source: Forbes January 13, 2019 15:11 UTC