Research

Until 2010, for-profit institutions constituted the fastest growing sector in higher education. Coinciding with this growth, online college courses and programs expanded rapidly, driven initially by the adoption of online technologies by huge for-profit institutions like the University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, and Walden University. The business model for the online component of these schools was characterized by institutional cost savings and user convenience generated by the scalable delivery of instructional material over the Internet.2 Through the ability to market and offer...

Explore each of the factsheets below for statistics related to that issue area and suggested reforms that could help to bring financial fairness to all. Auto Lending Debt Collection Mortgages Overdraft Fees Payday Lending Student Debt

Debt collection efforts around the United States rely heavily on litigation to collect past due debt. The ease of obtaining default judgments and garnishment orders has led debt buyers to use the courts as a critical tool for extracting payments from consumers, despite the lack of documentation showing that the consumer actually owes the amount claimed. Debt buyers are skilled at using the court system for collection purposes, but the people they sue typically are generally ill-equipped to fight the claims in court on their own and cannot retain counsel. Previous research has established that...

Existing racial wealth gap increases burden of student loan debt on Black families and communities: This means families of color are more likely to need to borrow for higher education, will have less income with which to pay it, and have less of a cushion to withstand future financial shocks, thus contributing to a higher likelihood of delinquency and default on student loan debt. Today, nearly half of Black graduates owe more on their undergraduate student loan after four years than they did at graduation, compared to 17% of white graduates. Even a degree is no shield from racial disparities...

By the Stop the Debt Trap Alliance of Oregon, in partnership with the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) In 2006, when Oregonians noticed the devastating impact payday and car-title lending was having on their communities, a coalition pushed for a change in the state laws, bringing new consumer protections to hundreds of thousands of people in the state. This example shows the power of communities to make change on issues affecting the day-to-day lives of people in Oregon. Today, community organizations are once again coming together to continue improving the marketplace and economic...

On this tenth anniversary of the financial crisis, there have been many retrospectives on the US government’s response to that catastrophe, with more to come. The commentary to date has largely focused on the extraordinary measures taken to prevent a much deeper collapse of the American and global economies. Measures were implemented to address the immediate crisis and reduce the likelihood of a repeat event. Both had a significant impact. But in examining the crisis and its responses, it is critical to remember that it was triggered and substantially driven by a dysfunctional housing market...

Nearly 74 million people, about a quarter of the United States population, live in rural areas. That includes 15 million people of color. But according to the authors of a new paper published by the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings, these families are often overlooked in policy discussions on proposed changes to the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), which provide the largest share of mortgage financing in rural areas. GSE mortgage financing meets a critical rural housing need, and it also supports community banks, which are often the only full-service financial institution...

Florida is fertile ground for studying for-profit education, given the industry’s outsized presence there and a weak state regulatory environment. In the early summer of 2017, The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) conducted focus groups in Orlando, Florida with 75 individuals who had attended for-profit colleges within the last 10 years and borrowed to finance their education. The research sought to better understand the circumstances these individuals faced that led them to enroll in their respective schools and their experiences with choosing, enrolling, and attending the school; finding...

In recent years, payday lenders have drained over half a billion dollars in fees from Michigan consumers to out-of-state companies. By charging APRs over 340%, payday lenders cost Michigan consumers over $94 million in 2016 and over $513 million over the past five years. Over two-thirds of Michigan payday stores have headquarters out of state. Michigan payday lenders disproportionately locate their stores in communities of color. While statewide there are 5.6 payday stores per 100,000 people in Michigan, payday store concentrations are higher in census tracts that have more African-Americans...

A recent poll conducted by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting shows overwhelming concern among voters regarding the level of student debt. Across parties, a majority of voters agree that the amount of student loan debt represents a crisis, with 71% of Democrats, 67% independents, and 57% of Republicans in agreement. Almost three in five independents (58%) strongly agree, as do 57% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans. Download the poll results.