Today, nearly 43 million Americans have accrued roughly $1.7 trillion in federal student loans. As a beneficiary of federal student loan funding, institutions have a moral and legal obligation to support the students whose borrowing sustains their operations. To remain eligible for federal student loans, institutions must counsel borrowers on repayment. Those with cohort default rates above 40 percent risk losing access to federal student loans — a threshold more than 1,100 schools are above or approaching. Student loans exist to serve students — not institutions.

Source: Washington Post March 13, 2026 00:42 UTC