By Anders Frieberg
[email protected]

“Got debt?” seems to be the appropriate slogan for college students today.

The federal Perkins Loan Program expired on Oct. 1 after Congress did not vote to extend it. Funded through the Department of Education, Perkins Loans have aided students since 1958, including students at the University of Iowa.

The program has been noted for its direction to students with exceptional financial need and its low, fixed interest rate. While not one of the most well-known programs, it has worked with around 1,700 colleges across the country in financing students’ education.

Mark Warner, UI assistant provost and director of Student Financial Aid, said the number of students relying on Perkins Loans on campus was significant.

During the 2014-15 academic year, 1,168 undergraduate students received federal Perkins Loans, he said in an email, with similar numbers will be expected for this school year.

The number comes out to be around 5 percent of the undergraduate population. Nationally, roughly 2 to 3 percent of all college students rely on these loans.

Warner also noted that students who received Perkins Loans for 2015-16 or prior will continue to qualify for the loan. The biggest impact would be on students who could no longer receive the loans beginning with their 2016-17 academic year.

Joe Dullard, statistical research analyst for the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, cited data that in the 2013-14 school year, there were 1,631 Perkins loans used at the UI.

Iowa State University had the most, at 3,126 — almost double the UI’s. Altogether, around $19 million in Perkins Loans were distributed that year in the state of Iowa.

The program is also slightly different from other federal loan programs in that it distributes money to colleges and then allows them to choose which students qualify for the loan.

Heather Doe, Iowa College Student Aid Commission Communications coordinator, said colleges are required to contribute one-third of funding, with federal dollars making up the remaining two-thirds.

“Colleges who participate in the Perkins Loan Program like it because it provides them with a little more flexibility in how the funds are awarded,” Doe said. “Many colleges say it helps them fill in the gaps for needy students, allowing them to cover part of their college cost at a low interest rate without them having to look into riskier, private education loans.”

While the expiration will not affect students currently enrolled in college and receiving the loans, it will phase out over the next several years and not allow any new students to qualify. Thus, colleges and students will begin paying back everything in the next couple of years.