Policy Perspectives is a Weblog devoted to the latest developments in the legislative arena and their impact on federal student loan public policy. It provides context and insight to the issues that touch students, parents, taxpayers and the higher education community, as well as sparks discussion on where the federal student loan programs should head in the long term.
A recent proposal would allow financial aid officers to prevent students from overborrowing. But would more debt management and financial literacy counseling be the better solution?…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on October 22, 2009 at 02:44 PM EST
Loans are a reality for most students. So let’s start discussing loans early and ensure that families have equal access to the information they need to make educated consumer choices.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on June 18, 2009 at 02:22 PM EST
The fight between FFELP and Direct Lending was alive and well at last week’s Congressional hearings, yet the plight of hardworking education borrowers was all but ignored.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on June 03, 2009 at 10:53 AM EST
Get the scoop on 2 Congressional hearings on student loan reform this week!…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 22, 2009 at 02:39 PM EST
A great debate rages on the future of federal student loan reform, and it could extend past this fall. But ASA will continue to advocate passionately on behalf of borrowers’ education debt management rights.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 19, 2009 at 09:17 AM EST
Borrowers need education debt management throughout the life of the loan—and guarantors are ideally suited to provide these services.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 01, 2009 at 09:42 AM EST
The Student Loan Rehabilitation Program, a right promised to every federal student loan borrower, essentially has been derailed by a collision of the liquidity crunch and a myopic interpretation of legislative language.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on February 12, 2009 at 09:20 AM EST
When New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an investigation into the relationship between education lenders and college financial aid offices, many were rightfully outraged…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on February 06, 2009 at 04:15 PM EST
The recent turmoil in the student loan industry has caused many in the industry to step back and ask, “What would the ideal federal student loan program look like? ” ASA believes it has an answer.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on November 19, 2008 at 06:41 PM EST
During the credit crunch, ASA believes, as always, that the primary role of the guarantor is to proactively support borrowers and help them successfully repay their student loans.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on July 09, 2008 at 01:46 PM EST
The NCHELP Student Loan Ombudsman Caucus Meeting, held this month in Boston, draws attention to the value of these hardworking student advocates.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on June 23, 2008 at 01:30 PM EST
As the summer approaches, financial aid officers on college campuses have just completed exit interviews for federal student loan borrowers, which explain students’ repayment rights and responsibilities.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on May 29, 2008 at 01:41 PM EST
Senator Kennedy has offered an amendment to the Budget Resolution that would allow Congress to increase the borrowing limits on federal student loans. But the issue is far from black and white.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on March 24, 2008 at 03:09 PM EST
A side-by-side comparison shows that a student loan borrower who defaults on his obligation can pay more than $5,000 in additional interest and fees for every $10,000 borrowed. Extrapolate that out to a $40,000 to $50,000 total student loan debt load (easily done if a student attends graduate school) and the additional cost of default over the entire life of repayment equals a staggering $20,000 to $25,000—the equivalent of a new car or a down payment on a home.…Read Blog Post
Posted by Shelley Saunders on December 03, 2007 at 10:34 AM EST
Shelley Saunders
Vice President, Strategic Services
In her current role as American Student Assistance’s vice president of Strategic Services, Shelley Saunders serves as the organization’s primary contact for Congress, as well as for national organizations such as the American Council on Education, the American Association for State Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Student Loan Administrators (NASLA), and others. Her main focus is to educate the public policy making community on the positive results American Student Assistance has realized through its focus on student loan borrower financial Wellness.
In her 12-year career at American Student Assistance, Saunders has played an integral role in several of the organization’s global projects, including designing a new client-server based life-of-the-loan processing system and developing corporate strategy and tactics. She most recently held the position of vice president of Borrower Services.
Saunders has appeared on numerous Clear Channel radio broadcasts in the Washington, D.C. area. Her areas of expertise include the public purpose role of federal student loan administrators, as well as general facts about student loan origination and repayment.
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