RSSLoan Forgiveness Program to Erase More Than $400,000 in Student Loans
Oct 21
Student Loan Bank of America Securities, Jr., Matt Blunt, Missouri, Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, MOHELA, Raymond Bayer, state student loan agency No Comments
As part of a statewide effort to support education in math and science, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority has agreed to forgive more than $443,850 in student loans for nearly 300 engineering and pre-engineering college students (“MOHELA Forgives Over $400,000 in Pre-Engineering Loan Program,” MarketWatch, Oct. 17, 2008).
The lender’s Prospective Engineering Student Loan Forgiveness Award Program will forgive up to $3,500 in federal Stafford student loans for any Missouri college freshman who enrolls in and completes two years of engineering classes in certain degree programs.
Students at 11 Missouri schools are eligible for the loan forgiveness program, which complements the state’s Math, Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (METS) Alliance, an initiative created by Gov. Matt Blunt to improve student achievement in METS-based industries.
MOHELA’s loan forgiveness program is funded, in part, by the revenues generated from tax-exempt bonds, says Raymond Bayer, Jr., MOHELA’s executive director and chief executive officer.
The state student loan agency also recently closed on a $262.5 million bond issuance with Bank of America Securities that will give MOHELA the capital it needs to continue issuing federal student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“MOHELA Announces $262.5 Million Bond Issuance,” MarketWatch, Oct. 17, 2008).