Student leaders push for state loan reform

By Blair Emerson. Higher education advocates say a 2008 federal law made state loans less accessible. As Congress works to renew the Higher Education Act this year, student leaders in Minnesota are pushing legislators to make state student loans more accessible. The Minnesota Student Association, the Minnesota State University Student Association and national higher education advocates say the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 restricted how colleges inform students about non-federal loans, driving many students to options more costly than loans provided by the state. The law, enacted in 2010, required colleges to certify all non-federal loans through a lengthy process, said Tricia Grimes, a financial aid analyst at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. More...