Denison University’s Director of Financial Aid Nancy Hoover was asked by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to participate in a recent press conference call in which he announced that he was introducing the Student Loan Simplification and Opportunity Act of 2011, a bill to make repayment of college loans easier and less expensive, and to make more Pell Grants available for low-income students.

Hoover, a practicing financial aid professional for 25 years, is the current chair of The National Direct Student Loan Coalition (NDSLC), a grass roots organization comprised of schools dedicated to the continuous improvement and strengthening of the Direct Loan program. The NDSLC is one of several national educational organizations endorsing Sen. Brown’s bill to help student borrowers as well as provide assistance to future students with the savings scored to go to the Pell Grant program, which is currently experiencing a budget shortfall.

“I have seen first-hand how confusing it is for students to manage multiple payments to multiple servicers,” Hoover said. “Sometimes the loans are sold and the students don’t know where to send the payments and often default on these loans. Senator Brown’s bill provides benefits to students who currently have multiple servicers and who make the choice to consolidate.”

According to Hoover, the plan allows students to benefit from some loan forgiveness options, especially if they work in public service for 10 years. It also enables students to have an income-contingent loan repayment option, which has proven to be more beneficial than income-based repayment for some borrowers. And the program helps ensure that students have access to savings of 2 percent off the principal of their Family Federal Education Loans (FFEL) by consolidating loans from various lenders. 

Hoover said, “Denison’s Pell Grant recipients would benefit from this legislation because the savings from eliminating federal subsidies for FFEL lenders would be reinvested into the Pell Grant program which is currently facing an $11.2 billion funding gap for 2012.”

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement, and the cultivation of independent thinking.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575