Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, withdrawn or graduated student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 to a lending institution. The lending may usually be a student loan

Student loan

A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education...

, but debts may be owed to the school if the student has dropped classes

Dropping out

Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....

 and withdrawn from the school (especially if a low- or no-income

Income

Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...

 student has withdrawn with a failing grade, which would functionally deprive the student of the ability of further attendance by disqualifying the student of necessary financial aid); such due payments may be a retroactive penalty for services rendered by the school to the individual, including room and board

Room and board

Room and board describes a situation where, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis...

.

As with most other types of debt, student debt may be considered defaulted

Default (finance)

In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...

 after a given period of non-response to requests by the school and/or the lender for information, payment or negotiation. At that point, the debt is turned over to a Student Loan Guarantor

Student Loan Guarantor

A guarantor is a person or agency that agrees to pay someone else’s debt should he or she default on a loan. In the case of student loans in the United States, the government guarantees the federal loans that students borrow...

 or a collection agency

Collection agency

A collection agency is a business that pursues payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed....

.

Furthermore, until the student debt (also known as "financial obligations

Executory contract

An executory contract is a contract which has not yet been performed or executed. Although material, an obligation to pay money does not usually make a contract executory. An obligation is material if a breach of contract would result from the failure to satisfy the obligation...

") is paid in full, most educational institutions control records and transcripts

Transcript (education)

In education, a transcript is an inventory of the courses taken and grades earned of a student throughout a course.- United States :In United States education, a transcript is a copy of a student's permanent academic record which usually means all courses taken, all grades received, all...

 after the student has ended his or her attendance. This functionally disqualifies the student from attending another educational institution that is demanding a full archive of the student's past attendances. If the student either begins to make monthly payments on the debt or pays the debt with another student loan, the former school may allow for an unofficial copy of the transcript to be sent to the latter institution for its registrar

Registrar (academic)

In education outside the United Kingdom, a registrar or registrary is an official in an academic institution who handles student records. Typically, a registrar processes registration requests, schedules classes and maintains class lists, enforces the rules for entering or leaving classes, and...

 to remove a hold on attendance.

See also

• College tuition in the United States
• EdFund
  EDFUND
  EdFund is the United States' second largest provider of student loan guarantee services under the Federal Family Education Loan Program . It is organized as a non-profit public benefit corporation. EdFund offers students and their families a wide range of information on the value of higher...
  
  
• Free education
  Free education
  Free education refers to education that is funded through taxation, or charitable organizations rather than tuition fees. Although primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in many countries, for example, all education is mostly free including...
  
  
• Higher education bubble
  Higher education bubble
  The higher education bubble is a speculative boom and bust phenomenon in the field of higher education. According to the theory, while college tuition payments are rising, the rate of return of a college degree is decreasing, and the soundness of the student loan industry may be threatened by...
  
  
• Higher Education Price Index
  Higher Education Price Index
  The Higher Education Price Index is a measure of the inflation rate applicable to United States higher education; more precisely, the increase in costs in a defined basket of goods and services typically purchased by institutions of higher education...
  
  
• Post-secondary education
• Private university
  Private university
  Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
  
  
• Student benefit
  Student benefit
  Student benefits are transfer payments that are given to students for purposes of full-time study, and require progress in studies, or obtaining academic credits. Student benefits are found in countries where education is free of charge, e.g. Finland and Sweden...
  
  
• Student loan
  Student loan
  A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education...
  
  
• Student loans in the United States
  Student loans in the United States
  While included in the term "financial aid," higher education loans differ from scholarships and grants in that they must be paid back. They come in several varieties in the United States:...
  
  
• Tuition agency
  Tuition agency
  A tuition agency is a commercial organisation which specialises in introducing tutors to students requiring help in the academic area. Tuition agencies exist largely due to the problems parents and students face in finding a specialist who can help them with the study of one or more specific...
  
  
• Tuition center
  Tuition center
  Tuition center is a special term for private educational institutions; they are especially abundant and ubiquitous in Malaysia,India,The Middle East and Singapore. Many school teachers earn their supplementary income through tuition centers and agencies...
  
  
• Tuition fees
• Tuition freeze
  Tuition freeze
  Tuition freeze is a government policy restricting the ability of administrators of post-secondary educational facilities to increase tuition fees for students. Although governments have various reasons for implementing such a policy, the main reason cited is improving accessibility for working-...
  
  

External links

• "Forgive Student Loan Debt" Well-known Student Loan Advocacy site
• "Project On Student Debt" at the Institute for College Access & Success
• "Student Loan Justice" Well-known Student Loan Advocacy site
• "Thirst For Justice" Higher-Ed Tuition Costs (A well-sourced advocacy Position Paper)
• "U.S. PIRG" Public Interest Research Group