On October 21, The Hamilton Project hosted a forum on the evolving role of higher education in American society. At the forum, Susan Dynarski presented a paper titled "Loans for Educational Opportunity: Making Borrowing Work for Today's Students," which served as the focus of a roundtable discussion. The paper was co-authored by Education Policy Initiative postdoctoral research fellow Daniel Kreisman.
Dynarski and Kreisman propose a single, income-based loan repayment system that automatically deducts payments from borrowers' paychecks to replace the current array of repayment options. Dynarski emphasized that the U.S. currently has "not a debt crisis, but a repayment crisis," stating:
"We have a repayment crisis because student loans are due when borrowers have the least capacity to pay. It often takes years for college graduates to settle into a steady, high-paying job that reflects the value of their education."
Dynarski and Kreisman's proposal was one of three papers released by The Hamilton Project suggesting major changes to the financial aid system. Their work received coverage in The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education and Wall Street Journal Cheat Sheet.