1. Tentative Project Title: Assessing the Effect of Student Loan Forgiveness Initiatives on Academic Performance

2. Problem Statement: To evaluate the effectiveness of student loan forgiveness programs in increasing access to education and their effects on students' educational outcomes. (Sandy Baum. 2022, September 26)

3. Theoretical Framework: The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program is an important, if largely unfulfilled, promise to lower student loan debt for the benefit of the teachers, doctors, police officers, and other community workers who put in endless hours to support the success of our country. With PSLF, debts are cancelled after ten years of public service, freeing public servants of the burden of student loans, enabling many borrowers to stay in their existing roles, and inspiring others to seek employment in high-need areas. I will utilize the theories from Eugene Bardach's eightfold theory to further dissect the issues within the loan forgiveness program. (Bardach, E., & Patashnik, E. M. (2020))

4. Research Question(s): What is the impact of various student loan forgiveness techniques on the educational attainment of borrowers? What are the financial effects of different student loan forgiveness programs on both the economy as a whole and individual borrowers? What effects do qualifying requirements such as bankruptcy provisions, disability discharge, and closed school discharge have on the effectiveness and accessibility of student debt forgiveness programs?

. Criteria for Evaluation:

Effectiveness: Assess the extent to which student loan forgiveness initiatives assist borrowers in fulfilling their educational goals and reducing their financial obligations. Cost: Calculate how much different forgiveness strategies will cost the government and individual borrowers. Equity: Evaluate how inclusive and equal the distribution of benefits is for borrowers with varying socioeconomic backgrounds. Political Feasibility: Find out how much support proposed forgiveness schemes have from the general public and legislators. Legal Concerns: Find out if there will be any legal or regulatory barriers to the implementation of student loan forgiveness schemes. Implementation: Assess the practicality and value of integrating different forgiveness models into the existing institutional structures.

5. Project Design: This research will employ a correlational research design in order to investigate the relationship between educational attainment and student loan forgiveness programs. The sources of information will be academic publications, government papers, and policy briefings, among other scholarly sources. Interviews with college students will also be conducted to get qualitative insights into their experiences with student loan forgiveness programs. Because it is understood that human subjects research ethics must be upheld, the interviews conducted for this study will not be disclosed outside of the academic setting.

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6. References: American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA welcomes student loan forgiveness for psychologists in Public Service. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/10/student-loan-forgiveness-public-service

Bardach, E., & Patashnik, E. M. (2020).A practical guide for policy analysis: the eightfold path to more effective problem solving. CQ Press.

Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role. Jossey-Bass.

Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Sandy Baum, A. L., Looney, A., Holzer, H. J., Anne Case, J. C. E., & Levine, P. (2022, September 26). Putting student loan forgiveness in perspective: How costly is it and who benefits?. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/putting-student-loan-forgiveness-in-perspective-how-costly-is-it-and-who-benefits/