On line registration for this event is closed. Walk in registrations will be accepted.

Higher education produces large average economic gains for those who complete their degrees and improves productivity and competitiveness in the U.S. economy at large. To finance college and other advanced training, students and their families are increasingly turning to loans: two-thirds of baccalaureate degree recipients in 2000 had college loans, and their average debt was nearly 60 percent higher than the average debt of those who graduated in 1993 after accounting for inflation.

This conference will examine the role of loans in the context of federal financial aid and tax incentives for postsecondary education. Researchers and respondents will discuss ways to look at “debt burden” and its impact on different populations, both before and after college. Participants will suggest ways that federal loan and tax provisions might be redesigned to maximize the potential for federal aid to boost access and completion in higher education.