Deep Dives

Deep Dives

Nov 20, 2025

Deep Dive: New Research Shows the Profound Impact of Debt on Perceptions of Higher Ed

For the first time, a novel set of research investigates the perspectives of student loan borrowers in various repayment plans on key issues, including (1) the value of their higher education experience, (2) the educational threshold for financial security, and (3) their trust in loan servicers and the federal government concerning loan repayment information.

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Deep Dives

Sep 11, 2025

Deep Dive: The OBBBA Law Makes Paying for College More Expensive and Risky

The following Protect Borrowers Deep Dive is an updated analysis of certain student loan-related provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by Congress and signed into law through the budget reconciliation process. An original analysis focused on the House version of the bill was published on May 6, 2025.

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Deep Dives

Jun 26, 2025

Deep Dive: The Hidden Costs of Delinquency: Subprime Credit, Predatory Loans, and Debt Traps

Recent data shows that one student loan in delinquency can make borrowers of every credit tier subprime, which can cause their interest rates for lines of credit to more than double, making it substantially more difficult—if not impossible in some cases—to buy a home or car, open a credit card, rent an apartment, and more.

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Deep Dives

May 22, 2025

Deep Dive: Moving Student Loans Out of the Education Department is a Risky Gamble for Borrowers and the U.S. Economy

This Deep Dive details how the Trump Administration’s reported efforts to charge the Small Business Administration with oversight of federal student loans are illegal and would result in a major decline in quality of services for borrowers already facing tremendous economic uncertainty.

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Deep Dives

May 6, 2025

Deep Dive: House Reconciliation Bill Makes Paying for College More Expensive and Risky for Students and Working Families

This SBPC Deep Dive is a preliminary economic analysis of the House Education & Workforce Committee’s legislation on student loan repayment.

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Deep Dives

Aug 14, 2024

Deep Dive Series on TRAPs

Protect Borrowers Deep Dives are in-depth examinations of relevant topics featuring analysis of existing literature, policy stances and recommendations, and other findings.

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Deep Dives

Jul 31, 2024

Deep Dive: When Employers Turn Employees into Consumers, State and Local Regulators Can Turn to Consumer Protection Law

This SBPC Deep Dive explains how state and local law enforcement and consumer regulators can prohibit TRAPs and other stay-or-pay contracts under existing consumer protection laws.

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Deep Dives

Jul 24, 2024

Deep Dive: State Law Provides an Untapped Route to Combat TRAPs and Other Coercive Contracts

The following SBPC Deep Dive explains how state antitrust officials can prohibit TRAPs and other stay-or-pay contracts under existing unfair methods of competition laws. Eleven states have laws that provide them with the ability to categorically prohibit non-competes and similar contracts instead of challenging their legality on a case-by-case basis.

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Deep Dives

Jul 17, 2024

Deep Dive: How Labor Protections Allow Cities and States to Combat Worker Traps

The work highlighted in this Deep Dive sheds light on the ways that our higher education financing system is detrimental to Black women’s overall well-being and ability to build wealth.

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Deep Dives

Jul 10, 2024

Deep Dive: How Cities and States Can Unlock Workers Across the Country from TRAPs

This is the kickoff piece for a deep dive series on how city, county, and state regulators can take on Training Repayment Agreement Provisions, or TRAPs, using existing authorities to protect workers.

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