McPherson: Failed Deal to Prevent Student Loan Rates from Doubling is "Frustrating"

APLU President Peter McPherson released a statement calling the Congressional deal to avert the doubling of student loan interest rates from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1 "troubling" and "frustrating."

“Congress and the White House have known for a year that rates would double unless they worked out a deal by July 1.  So it is frustrating that we are in this situation now.  Hope is not lost though.  While rates on new, subsidized Stafford student loans will now rise to 6.8 percent, most students will not take out loans for the upcoming school year until August or September." 

Earlier in the day, McPherson appeared on National Public Radio to discuss the politics surrounding the student loan debate in Washington each year.

It "shouldn't be a political football every year or every couple of years. We need some way to stabilize this process in a way that maintains relatively low interest rates but also has stability," he said.

Last week, McPherson said in a video there's still time for Congress and the administration to stop the rate hike from affecting millions of students this fall.

CLICK HERE to listen the NPR story!
CLICK HERE to read it!

Inside APLU: What Immigration Reform Means for Higher Education

Craig Lindwarm, Assistant Director for International Issues in the Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs, discusses the status of the Senate immigration bill and the effects it could have on higher education in this Inside APLU video. The Senate approved the measure 68 to 32. The bill now moves to the House where its fate is uncertain. 

Lindwarm said to The Chronicle of Higher Education the "real game changer in the bill for universities is in the green-card section, where advanced-degree graduates for STEM fields have green cards stapled to their diplomas."

Meanwhile APLU released a statement calling the bill an "important step forward for higher education institutions, which stand to benefit greatly from provisions that will allow a new generation of immigrants, international students, and professors to fill classrooms and laboratories."

The statement goes on to say the "House has a responsibility to seize this rare moment of bipartisanship in the Senate and carry this immigration reform effort forward.  We will remain vigorously involved with this effort.” 

McPherson Pens Op-ed on the Immigration Debate in Congress

"Our nation has long prided itself on being a land of opportunity for those seeking a better life. With time, however, our immigration system has broken down," said APLU President Peter McPherson in an essay published in Inside Higher Ed on the immigration bill debate underway in the Senate.

In the article he says partisanship and the legislative process in Washington has grown over the years to the point of a stalemate. In spite of the challenges, he sees immigration as a chance to for a "rare bipartisan exception."

The bipartisan bill moving steadily through the Senate is filled with an array of provisions that have been long overdue. The measure establishes an expedited pathway to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. These young people are here through no decision of their own and 65,000 of them graduate from U.S. high schools each year. They should have a process in place to become citizens. And they also should have the opportunity to go to their states' public colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates at the state’s discretion while participating in federal student loan and work study programs. The Senate bill would make all of this possible.

Read the full essay here.

APLU Interns Visit the Supreme Court

By Stephen Payne, APLU CGA Summer Intern



Interns (L to R) FRONT: Stephen Payne, Yvonne Usanase, Min Kyung Jeon, Alexandra Colevas
BACK: Michael Mastroianni, Jacob Steiner, Dorian Cockrell, Ethan Cheatle  
Interns from several departments at APLU traveled to the Supreme Court for a presentation on the procedures and history of the court chambers. We also had a great opportunity to hear from Maj. Gen.William Suter, who serves as the high court's clerk.

Suter explained his background and how he became the clerk after retiring from a distinguished military career—including basic training with Elvis Presley.