Bill would require Maryland colleges to report 'institutional debt' owed by students, advocates say

Delegate Ryan Spiegel told the House Appropriations Committee that institutional debt — balances students owe directly to colleges and universities — is an under‑studied component of the broader student‑debt problem. House Bill 920 would require public and private Maryland institutions to report annually to the Maryland Higher Education Commission on the total amount of institutional debt they hold, demographic characteristics of affected students, and the types of charges that lead to those balances.

Spiegel said a Virginia report showed such debt disproportionately burdens Black and Hispanic students and recommended Maryland collect similar data to identify inequities. Amy Salata of the Student Borrower Protection Center said national estimates place institutional debt at roughly $15 billion nationwide and that Maryland schools hold about $332 million owed by students; her organization’s public‑records requests to a dozen Maryland public institutions found nearly $58 million owed by roughly 32,000 students at five responding schools.

Doctor Tisa Silver Kennedy, who runs the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness, recounted individual student stories — including withheld diplomas over balances of a few hundred dollars and returned federal aid creating balances that blocked re‑enrollment — to illustrate the practical consequences of institutional debt. Speakers said the bill only requires reporting and does not alter collection practices; supporters said the transparency is the first step toward targeted policy interventions.

Ending: Supporters urged the committee to require reporting so policymakers can evaluate scale and racial or economic disparities; advocates pointed to Virginia’s recent statutory report as a model.