Career College Association Applauds President's Repayment Relief Proposal

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Career College Association (CCA) applauds President Barack Obama's proposal, included in his State of the Union address, to provide federal student loan repayment relief for college borrowers.

"This common sense approach will give much needed relief to many students who enter fields where initial salaries do not match their college loans," said Career College Association CEO and President Harris N. Miller. He continued, "The President's proposal recognizes that by saddling the workforce of today with unwieldy debt, we risk denying postsecondary access to a broad swath of Americans."

Miller said CCA supports the President's recommendation to enhance the recently created system of income-based loan repayment that allows students to repay their loans on a graduated scale as their earnings increase. "Stepping back, the fundamental logic is sound. Borrowing for college pays dividends over a lifetime in terms of higher wages, better advancement opportunities and more interesting, fulfilling work. This is a solution that allows the government to use carrots rather than sticks to encourage students from every walk of life to follow the higher education path best for them without accepting the risk of unmanageable loans and difficulty making ends meet in the immediate future. It does not limit student options or involve an unworkable higher education price control system that some are advocating."

Miller continued, "With President Obama's bold vision to create the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, we as a country must embrace more common sense solutions to enable our workforce to quickly meet the demands of a rapidly changing workplace. This is a big step in the right direction."

About CCA: The Career College Association (CCA) is a voluntary membership organization of accredited, private postsecondary schools, institutes, colleges and universities that provide career-specific educational programs. CCA has more than 1,600 members that educate and support over one million students each year for employment in over 200 occupational fields. CCA member institutions provide the full range of higher education programs: masters and doctoral degree programs, two- and four-year associate and baccalaureate degree programs, and short-term certificate and diploma programs. Visit CCA at www.career.org or follow us on Twitter: ccanow.

    
    For more information:
    Sarah Abruzzese
    202-336-6744
    saraha@career.org
    
    Bob Cohen
    202-336-6836
    bobc@career.org

SOURCE Career College Association