Understanding Federal Student Loans with Expert Betsy Mayotte

After almost three years of the unknown, federal student loan borrowers learned their fate recently when President Biden made a final decision to erase $10,000 to $20,000 for borrowers who matched certain criteria. This past September’s ruling left many perplexed and filled with additional questions. To bring clarity and help borrowers sift through the unknown, Harvard Federal Credit Union (Harvard FCU) invited Betsy Mayotte, President, and Founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA) to host a webinar on October 12th entitled, “Understanding President Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief Program.” Over 600 registered and over 300 participated live via Zoom.

“The Department of Education’s debt relief plan will benefit millions of borrowers, including those that have previously defaulted, or are working toward public service loan forgiveness,” said Tanya Tanaro, VP, of Education & Consumer Lending at Harvard FCU. “The issue is the system is overly complicated. If you’re not well-versed in student loans, the eligibility requirements are difficult to interpret, and the process to obtain benefits can feel like a barrier.”

Mayotte has been working in the student loan industry for more than 20 years and has helped thousands of borrowers with their student loans. She has also served as a primary negotiator for several federal Title IV negotiated rulemaking sessions, such as the use of student loans at foreign schools, loan rehabilitation, and borrower defense to repayment.

Tanaro went on to say Mayotte’s presentation is of the utmost importance because, “we at Harvard FCU care about the financial health of our members, and have an obligation to provide sound guidance and information to help them successfully manage and repay their debt, whether or not they have student loans with us.”

This webinar’s recording is available on Harvard FCU’s YouTube channel. Harvard FCU encourages all to view and share this valuable resource.

About The Institute of Student Loan Advisors Corporation (TISLA): The Institute of Student Loan Advisors Corporation (TISLA) is a non-profit, founded to ensure that all student loan borrowers have access to free, neutral, and clear student loan advice and dispute resolution assistance. TISLA’s free resources are available at freestudentloanadvice.org.