Tufts University to Help Graduates in Public-Service Repay Student Loans

Under a new student loan repayment program offered by Tufts University, graduates and undergraduates from the school who pursue jobs in public service could have a portion of their student loans forgiven.

Tufts alumni from any graduating class who choose or have chosen to work for a nonprofit or public-sector employer following graduation may be eligible for the program, according to an article by The Chronicle of Higher Education writer Elizabeth Farrell (“Tufts Offers Loan Relief to Public-Service-Minded Students and Alumni,” April 23, 2008).

Tufts officials tout the university-wide program as the nation’s first debt relief plan to include all students who graduate from a particular school, Farrell wrote.

The total loan-repayment-assistance award a Tufts graduate could receive through the program is dependent on the graduate’s income level and the remaining balance of his or her student loan debt.

University officials expect to grant the school’s first loan-forgiveness awards in December. Initial funding for the program includes a $100 million gift from Tufts graduate, and eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar and $500,000 from the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund.