Republican Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says a new advisory group will meet this month to review the debt-collection practices for unpaid student loans at public colleges and universities.
DeWine says the group will review his office's processes for collection and litigation, and consider whether there's uniformity in university policies and penalties. DeWine says the panel also will examine whether students are sufficiently educated about their loan responsibilities. More from Kevin Niedermier of member station WKSU in Kent.
The Ohio Attorney General is obligated to collect unpaid student debts at the public universities. The advisory group will make sure the issue is being handled uniformly at all universities, and that students are better educated on how student loans work. Executive Director of Enrollment Operations at Cuyahoga Community College, Angela Johnson, is one of the advisory group’s 15 members…..
Johnson
“Ensuring that they are wide and smart consumers when they borrow, and that they actually understand that when they do graduate or leave the institution that they have a responsibility to repay the student loan.”
Other members of the advisory group include state lawmakers, student representatives, attorneys, debt management experts and other public university officials. Johnson says Ohio consistently ranks near the top nationwide in uncollected student loans. At the end of 2014, student loan debt in the U-S reached one-point-two-trillion dollars.
