There’s a consensus that college affordability is an issue for nearly all students and families. As lawmakers tussle over how best to address the problem in a legislative deadlock with the Higher Education Act, long overdue for reauthorization, some institutions are taking matters into their own hands by offering income-share agreements (ISAs) to students — a somewhat controversial option that allows students to repay an “investor” a percentage of their income for a fixed amount of time.
A panel of experts and higher education stakeholders gathered in Washington on Tuesday to debate the merits and potential drawbacks of ISAs. Like many other policy initiatives in higher education, the devil is in the details.
Throughout the panel discussion, hosted by Third Way, a center-left think tank, the speakers dove into how the structure of ISAs can impact students and debated how such financing mechanisms should be — or could be — regulated by lawmakers.
According to Tamara Hiler, director of education at Third Way, there are more than 40 colleges and bootcamps nationwide that currently offer ISAs as an option to students, or are in the process of developing them.