What are students loans for? bank profits or to get students through college?

For-profit private corporations get a cut of student loan money without running any risk (since the loans are guaranteed by the federal government). In 2007, Congress passed a law that cut these subsidies to bank profits by $6 bilion to put that money towards actually helping pay tuition and make college more affordable.

This year, the Obama administration proposed to end the remaining subsidies (another $6 billion) to banks and use that money to send students to college instead.

But the loan companies, to which students pay fees for these loans, are putting millions into lobbying against the bill and now are threatening to kill it.

With students facing the prospect of even more fee increases in this state, and with education dollars so scarce that we're facing budget cuts that would amount to a total of 40% cut over 3 years at UNLV, why is more money being used to subsidize bank profits?

The NFA urges its members, all faculty and all with an interest in higher education to ask candidates for federal, and state office, if they support using student loan money for bank profits or do they support putting that money to use to send students to college.