RALEIGH — As student debt levels nationwide surge above $1.3 trillion, the pursuit of a higher education has never been more unaffordable. A new paper by Generation Progress urges states and municipalities to take immediate and meaningful action on what its authors call a national crisis.

On the heels of the release of Mapping Student Debt – the first-of-its-kind project which tracks student loan balances, delinquency rates, and median income at the zip code level – “We can’t wait: How states and municipalities can help stem the student debt crisis” offers a menu of policy solutions as a framework for tackling the national crisis at the local level. For months, advocates throughout the country have worked to develop a catalog of tailored solutions addressing student debt.

In North Carolina, about 60.7 percent of zip codes in the state have high rates of delinquency, according to the “high,” “very high,” and “extremely high” thresholds defined by the Mapping student debt project.

“The burden of student debt is a critical issue for North Carolina’s economy, affecting everything from home sales, car purchases, to even small business start-ups,” said Gerrick Brenner, executive director of Progress North Carolina. “In the absence of meaningful action by Congress, we need state leaders to act to regulate servicers, facilitate loan refinancing and provide more assistance to borrowers.”

Some states, like Connecticut, have already moved forward to address this issue.

“The burden of student debt is a critical issue for Connecticut’s economy, hobbling everything from home sales to business starts. In the absence of meaningful action by Congress, we have moved to regulate servicers, facilitate loan refinancing and provide more assistance to borrowers. We will continue to partner with the Mapping Student Debt Project and others to address this growing issue,” Connecticut Representative Matt Lesser (D) said.

The recommendations outlined in the paper include:

·       Addressing the current trillion dollar national debt

·       Cleaning up student loan servicing

·       Increasing enforcement of predatory schools

·       Making free or debt-free higher education options the new normal

Read the paper here.