Jean Massey and Courtney Taylor urged the committee to expand postsecondary financial literacy and align it with the state's attainment and workforce goals, while April Washington (state financial aid office) described the scale of Mississippi's student debt problem and suggested a state-level borrower advocate.

Jean Massey framed the issue within the "Ascent to 55" attainment initiative and flagged that Mississippi's attainment rate is around 48.7% compared with a national average near 54.9%. She said postsecondary financial literacy must equip students for rent, loan repayment and other immediate money management decisions they face after high school.

Courtney Taylor linked financial literacy to credential alignment and accurate data, recommending just-in-time refreshers for students as they approach internships, loan decisions or workforce entry. She and Massey emphasized partnerships with local credit unions, banks and nonprofits to provide tools and coaching rather than a single mandated course for all institutions.

April Washington, who previously worked at the U.S. Department of Education's ombudsman office and now serves in Mississippi's financial aid office, presented national and state data: about 453,000 Mississippians hold federal student debt (reported as the number of borrowers in the state), an average borrower balance of roughly $37,000, and a delinquency rate of 22.3% (60+ days delinquent) as of August, which she said is the second-highest rate nationally.

Washington described systemic servicing failures after the COVID payment pause—missing or incorrect statements, broken websites and long servicer call wait times—that contributed to repayment problems. She recommended strengthening need-based state aid, expanding financial counseling and creating a state borrower advocate or ombudsman office to help resolve servicing and loan-forgiveness problems.

Committee members asked for historical cohort-default figures (pre-COVID) and more disaggregated data (by institution and program) so they could assess institutional risk and the effectiveness of proposed literacy interventions.