Department of Education

With student loan default rates rising due to persistently high unemployment rates, it's easy to vilify the seemingly endless monthly payments that follow graduation. But take a closer look, and you'll find that the news about student loans is more good than bad.

President Obama recently announced a plan to provide relief to student loan borrowers, but for the millions already in default on such loans, that help comes too late. Failure to repay those loans can wreck your finances permanently. Casey Zimmerman Thompson is a cautionary tale: More than two decades ago, she borrowed just $7,100.

From Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan to Ron Paul's proposal to nix the income tax, the GOP presidential candidates have floated a range of ideas for jump-starting the U.S. economy. But will any of them jump-start your home's economics?

A front group representing for-profit colleges owned by Education Management Corp. and others has sued the federal government for "negligence and malpractice" following the release of a highly critical report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The Coalition for...

For a growing number of U.S. college graduates, a diploma marks the beginning of financial difficulties. The Education Department says those who were scheduled to begin paying back their student loans in 2007 were 52% more likely to default within two years compared with those who left college two years earlier.

Times may be tough, but some students are still managing to make payments on their student loans. The U.S. Department of Education just released an extensive list of colleges where students have the best -- and worst -- track record of repaying their loans -- and some interesting trends have...

Medicare paid $55 billion last year just for doctor and hospital bills during the last two months of patients' lives, and 20 to 30 percent of those medical expenses may have had no meaningful impact, according to a report by CBS's 60 Minutes. The amount spent is more than the budget for the...

The for-profit education industry has grown rapidly for the past decade on the backs of the most vulnerable members of society. But now, with the Education Department on track to clamp down on abuses, and the Senate planning hearings, it looks like the party may be ending.