May 11, 2007

College cost crunch felt worldwide, not just in U.S.

A college cost crunch is bearing down on governments worldwide -- not just in America -- and some innovative approaches to student loans are being taken overseas, although you wouldn't know it on Capitol Hill.

As another round of debate gets going in Congress on how to help debt-burdened university students, aides said lawmakers were largely ignoring how other countries do it.

Make sure to go and check out what other countries are doing.

"Very useful and important things are happening in other countries," said Robert Shireman, executive director of the Project on Student Debt, a group that aims to improve America's labyrinthine and politically sensitive student loan system.

But getting U.S. lawmakers to look abroad for ideas is hard. "It's fascinating how insular Americans are. Discussions of what happens in other countries fall flat," Shireman said.

Read the rest here.

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