Student Debt Forum

A forum focused on how Iowa State students can better manage student and personal debt will follow a screening of the film Default: The Student Loan Documentary (27 min). The film, which first aired on PBS, tells the stories of students who made enormous sacrifices to better their lives through higher education and found themselves in the situation of having to make monthly loan payments that were sometimes higher than their gross income. It also examines the cost of college tuition, the power of the private lending industry, and the consequences college debt and student loan default can have for a career, home ownership, and financial independence.

Panelists include Tom Hill, Vice President for Student Affairs; Jonathan Fox, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies and director of the Student Financial Counseling Clinic; and Roberta Johnson, Director of Student Financial Aid. The discussion will be moderated by Iowa State faculty members William Carter, assistant professor of Germanic studies, and Kate Padgett Walsh, assistant professor of philosophy. Part of the Ethics of Debt Symposium.