What hasn't worked

The development of an effective strategy to address the problem requires an understanding of what has not worked in the past. Individual action has proven not to be an effective solution to the problem. The legislative branch of the federal government has been unresponsive to the efforts of individual student loan borrowers seeking reform of the student loan industry. One student borrower's voice cannot be heard by members of Congress amid the cacophony of heavily lobbied issues in Washington. Within the federal administrative branch, the U.S. Department of Education has not demonstrated an interest in changing its regulations, operating procedures, or practices in response to the voices of individual student borrowers. Individual lawsuits within the judicial branches of our federal and state governments are expensive to pursue and difficult to win. Individual plaintiffs in student loan lawsuits generally must compensate their attorneys on a per-hour basis, resulting in sizeable attorney fees that many student loan borrowers cannot afford. Individual cases are difficult to win because the causes of action appropriate to individual plaintiffs provide few opportunities to prevail upon the facts, and often preclude the opportunity to show ongoing patterns of activities involving negligent or intentional conduct affecting other individuals. From bankruptcy law to debt collection law to tort law, the deck is stacked against individual student loan litigation plaintiffs. Defendants in individual cases defuse the potential impact of negative public opinion by settling cases (when absolutely necessary) "under the radar" of media visibility, effectively eliminating any pressure to reform due to the absence of public scrutiny.

The government has demonstrated a consistent inability to reform the student loan industry on its own initiative, providing another example of what has not worked in the past. Congress established the federal Department of Education (previously within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) as well as the federal student loan program. The statutes and regulations that created, and continue to shape, the student loan industry are the work of the legislative and administrative branches of the federal government. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education have had an expansive opportunity to amend and modify the student loan system. Factors that have influenced the development of the industry such as the nexus of relationships between the federal government and the student loan industry, and the ability of student loan lenders, guarantors, and servicers to lobby Congress and affect decision-making within the Department of Education, are not likely to change in the absence of significant external pressure.

Collaborative action: Speak with one voice!

Achieving comprehensive reform will require affected and interested individuals to act as a single entity united by a common purpose. Only through the concerted efforts of people harmed by the student loan industry can the statutes, regulations, operating procedures, and industry and government agency practices that harm student loan borrowers be changed. The fundamental purpose of the Student Loan Advocates and Volunteer Exchange (SLAVE) is to protect the interests of student loan borrowers through the creation of a community of individuals committed to reform of the student loan industry in the United States. Our network of legal advocate volunteers (practicing and licensed attorneys, law school graduates, law students, and paralegals) and non-legal volunteers is unified by the fact that many student loan borrowers have legitimate grievances against the student loan industry and the federal government, and by the belief that reform of the industry is possible only through collaborative action. In-house SLAVE attorneys (led by the SLAVE General Counsel), legal advocate volunteers, outside counsel and co-counsel are participating in the planning, development, and implementation of legal strategies to protect the interests of student loan borrowers. SLAVE volunteers without legal experience or training engage in a wide variety of activities that support SLAVE in its mission to protect the interests of student loan borrowers. The SLAVE website itself is an exercise in collaborative action, providing the information and communications infrastructure to establish and maintain our community of student loan borrowers. Our website also increases the visibility and salience of the student loan crisis in America beyond our membership, and functions as a clearinghouse for information related to the plight of student loan borrowers and the role of the student loan industry and the U.S. Department of Education in causing harm to student loan borrowers. Lobbying Congressional representatives for student loan industry reform will be an effective strategy when pursued by an association backed by a substantial proportion of student loan borrowers in general, and the 16+ million people with outstanding federally guaranteed student loans in particular. Ultimately, the ability of our association to achieve its mission is grounded upon the legitimacy of our cause and the collective power of our constituency speaking with one voice on issues affecting student loan borrowers.

Class action: Power to the people!

The core SLAVE strategy is based upon the belief that the most direct avenue to the protection of student loan borrower interests is through the judicial system in the form of class action litigation. SLAVE supports class action litigation on behalf of student loan borrowers as the most effective catalyst for comprehensive reform of the student loan industry. The cost of class action litigation to protect the interests of student loan borrowers will potentially be massive. It will not be possible to maintain this large-scale class action in the face of the substantial costs and risks without ongoing financial contributions from student loan borrowers and other interested individuals and organizations. A critical and immediate objective of SLAVE is to expand the size of our community of student loan borrowers and supporters of our cause. A community of substantial size will be able to support the costs of maintaining a class action lawsuit against the large number of potential defendants in the student loan industry that, evidence suggests, have participated in causing harms suffered by student loan borrowers. We are currently compiling a list of student loan borrowers potentially interested in participating as members of the plaintiff's class in student loan class action litigation (use our plaintiff class submission form if you are a student loan borrower). Collaborative SLAVE efforts including the lobbying of Congressional representatives and the pursuit of grassroots efforts to educate, inform, and mobilize the electorate are important corollary activities and part of the SLAVE global strategic plan, but aggressive class action litigation on behalf of student loan borrowers is a fundamental prerequisite to comprehensive reform.

How to make it happen?

There are many things you can do in support of the SLAVE mission to protect the interests of student loan borrowers. Check out our what to do page for various ways you can help SLAVE achieve our shared objectives and goals.