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Attorney General Mike DeWine
Student Loan Debt
Collection Advisory Report issued
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's Advisory Group on
Student Loan Debt Collection issued a report of its findings, including
the recommendation that late fees and penalties added by colleges and
universities should not be assessed interest during debt collection
proceedings.
A copy of the advisory group's report can be found on the Ohio Attorney
General's website.
Attorney General DeWine created the external advisory group in
September 2016 to examine issues regarding debt collection practices
for unpaid student loans at Ohio public colleges and universities,
including:
The uniformity of university policies, fees,
and penalties regarding unpaid accounts
Whether students are being adequately educated
regarding all responsibilities when taking student loans
The university certification process for
student debt accounts
Student debt collection and litigation
processes within the Ohio Attorney General's Office
The report makes recommendations regarding collections practices of
student loan debt, including:
Institutions should adopt uniform
certification practices
Institutions should notify students that
past-due debts would be transferred to the Attorney General's Office
for collection
Institutions should notify the Attorney
General's Office of any atypical debts
Institutional late fees and penalties should
not be included in the calculation of interest and collection costs
Debtors should receive appropriate notice of
collections costs
The report also makes recommendations regarding student education both
before and during the process of acquiring student loans, including
that all Ohio high school students should receive one semester of
financial literacy education.
The advisory group met five times over six months. The advisory group
was chaired by Dan Sadlier, Chairman of the Board of Directors
(retired) at Fifth Third Bank and member of the Sinclair Community
College Board of Trustees. A full listing of advisory group members is
available in the report.
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