Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Higher Education Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bill would require Maryland colleges to disclose institutional debt students owe; advocates cite equity concerns
Summary
House Bill 920 would require Maryland public and private higher-education institutions to report annually to MHEC the amount and demographic breakdown of institutional debt owed to the institution (fines, housing charges, institutional loans). Advocates said the data are currently opaque and that available samples show disproportionate burdens on P
House Bill 920 would require Maryland higher-education institutions to report annually to the Maryland Higher Education Commission the total amounts and demographic characteristics of institutional debt students owe directly to their schools, witnesses told the House Appropriations Committee.
Sponsor Ryan Spiegel said the bill is a transparency measure designed to shed light on a largely opaque market. ‘‘Institutional debt is another type of debt that can plague students long after they leave a college or university,’’ Spiegel said. He cited an estimate that approximately $332 million may be owed by Maryland students, but said the true scope is unknown because only institutions hold the data.
Consumer-advocacy groups and a statewide financial-wellness nonprofit urged passage, saying preliminary records obtained from a subset of schools show millions of dollars in debts concentrated among Pell recipients, women and Black students. Amy Salata of the Student Borrower Protection Center and Dr. Tisa Silver Kennedy of the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness said reporting is feasible and that Virginia’s similar law produced a useful, state-level data set within months.
Witnesses emphasized the bill does not change collection practices; it requires reporting only. Proponents said the data would permit lawmakers and regulators to spot inequities, such as disproportionate housing and administrative charge burdens among particular student groups, and to consider targeted policy responses.
Representatives of some colleges mentioned in earlier public-information requests provided figures showing tens of millions of dollars in institutional debt at a limited set of schools; proponents said that patchwork confirms the need for a uniform reporting duty.
Committee members asked technical questions about reporting formats and administrative burden. Proponents replied that several institutions had already provided the same information in response to public-record requests and that the bill’s reporting requirements are achievable within months.
No committee vote was taken at the hearing.
