Note to editors:
We welcome the opportunity to respond to the recent opinion piece “Uncertainty” (December 15, 2025). The authors raise important questions about rising college costs, institutional incentives, and the risk of oversimplifying the complex financial challenges students and families face. We are pleased that she recognizes that the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) helps address affordability challenges and provides many benefits to students and colleges.
However, the authors question whether students should benefit from a guarantee that a college degree has financial value.
At its core, LRAP is student loan insurance. Taking out large student loans to pay for an expensive college degree can be scary. However, a market failure occurs every time students do not attend the college they love, study the major they love, or pursue the career they love because of fear of student debt. Students should be free to pursue their passions, not forced into making suboptimal choices because of the cost of a degree or the prospect of lower future earnings.
Society also suffers, especially if the low-paying careers students want to pursue are human service careers like education, where they will invest in improving the lives of others.
Most purchases come with a warranty or guarantee. Why should colleges be any different? The University is committed to providing value to students. We applaud those colleges and universities that support this commitment with financial guarantees.
As consumers, we typically insure our biggest risks and largest purchases. We insure our homes, cars, boats and lives, even our pets. Why shouldn’t we insure our expensive investment in college?
In any class, we can expect some students to earn less than their peers. It makes sense for students to be afraid of being part of this group. Individual students cannot diversify this risk. That’s what insurance does.
LRAP spreads risk over many students, much like insurance does for other common risks. Most drivers are unable to protect themselves from getting into a car accident and face the risk of huge repair and medical bills. Insurance spreads this risk, turning the small probability of a huge cost into a small premium to protect against this loss.
LRAP provides students with the same functionality (at no cost) because the university underwrites the program, giving students peace of mind and the freedom to attend the college of their choice and pursue their passions.
In doing so, LRAP becomes a tool that can help colleges increase enrollment and revenue. At a time when universities face many structural challenges—from regulatory changes to disruption from artificial intelligence to declining enrollment due to a demographic cliff—this additional revenue can be invaluable.
LRAP provides students with meaningful protections while maintaining clear incentives to focus on academic completion, career readiness, and post-graduation outcomes.
