Adrian College, a small private school in Michigan, is among the first in the U.S. to take on insurance policies on every student it enrolls.
Confident that graduates will land good paying jobs after moving their tassels from left to right, President Jeffrey Docking is putting his money where his mouth is: If Adrian alums don't make at least $37,000 a year, the school will play all or part of their loans through an insurance company.
"We need a tectonic shift in how we do student aid in this country," said Docking in an interview with AP, and an incentive like this could make a difference.
"It provides a sense of security [...] and a real feeling of relief. Probably as much with parents as with students," he added.
While a reliable safety net for students struggling with loan debt, Docking doesn't think that many graduates will actually qualify.
This type of collegiate move is one that appears to be common nowadays, with more and more schools across the nation trying out new ways to appeal to incoming freshman who know they'll have to deal with loans after graduation day.
In the D.C. area, American University has a reputation as a well-off school with a prosperous alumni association, but truth be told the average debt of AU students is still among the highest in the District. In an effort to make AU more affordable while maintaining its high education standards, the Board of Trustees passed its first $1 billion budget for fiscal years 2012-13, which included a 3.8 percent increase in undergraduate tuition – the smallest tuition boost in 15 years.
George Washington University has also stepped up in years past to help those suffering from loan debt. President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg added 30 to 50 scholarships for graduate students and he created a full-ride scholarship program that has been given to more than 148 District students so far. GW also takes the "uncertainty out of what the future may bring" by offering a fixed-rate tuition plan. Up front it allows students to know the cost of tuition for a GW education as payments remain fixed for the entire undergraduate program.
Both AU and GW don't have quite as robust of an offering as Adrian College for students to fall back on, but they are making an effort to aid those with debt. For those not enrolled at Adrian College, there's another option, too: Do your due diligence prior to applying for school.
Local startup College Abacus is like the "Kayak.com" of financial aid that'll make managing your student loans a whole lot easier. It's a one-stop comparison shop that allows students to identify and examine in contrast the net price of nearly 4,000 schools nationwide.
According to founder Abigail Seldin, College Abacus is "the only financial aid tool on the Internet that lets you generate and compare estimates that are exactly the same as you would find on the college website."
"This is about helping people manage their student loans," she added. By getting the best net price for college, you're also limiting the amount of debt you'll have to pay off after your school days have come to an end.
