ATLANTA — President Barack Obama announced a medley of modest steps to bring some order to a notoriously chaotic system Tuesday.
Obama unveiled his “student aid bill of rights” before a gymnasium packed with nearly 10,000 students at Georgia Tech, where he said the nation must mobilize to bring about deeper changes to student loans. Not only should every American be able to afford college, Obama said, they also should be able to afford the loan payments that kick in with a vengeance once they graduate.
Obama also called for a single website where students can see all their federal loans in one place — a major problem for students with multiple loans or debt that’s been sold from lender to lender. He also called for a website where borrowers can file complaints.
Last month, the Education Department severed ties with five companies, citing misleading statements to borrowers, including Pioneer Credit Recovery, a unit of Wilmington, Del.-based Navient Corp., which was split off last year from SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, the largest U.S. education finance company.
