The Hechinger Report – Caroline Preston
“This kind of arrangement, known as an income share agreement, or ISA, has been used in a smattering of places, but hasn’t gained much traction in the United States — until recently. Now, more than five dozen U.S. universities and coding schools use ISAs, and, in December, the Department of Education said it would experiment with offering them. Senators have introduced bipartisan legislation to regulate the tools, and investors are taking notice. As ISAs migrate from the margins of financial aid to the mainstream, the debate around them grows louder. Proponents tout the safety net they offer: With ISAs, unlike with loans, graduates pay nothing if they can find only low-wage work, and there are often limits on ISAs’ duration and on the total amount graduates must repay. “It makes college less risky,” said Beth Akers, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.” (more)