Nationally, student loan debt reached $1.6 trillion dollars last year. That works out to somewhere between $200 and $300 dollars for alumni paying off their personal student loans, but the economic downturn has a lot of people in a pinch. The U.S. Department of Education says about 20 percent of borrowers are in default, and a recent Pew study found most were concerned about how they’d make their next payment.

To counter the national problem, the Biden administration extended the student loan grace period until September 2021. We talked with Phil Schuman, who is the executive director of Financial Wellness and Education at Indiana University — Bloomington, to see what this means for alumni, students and potential borrowers.

For more, visit moneysmarts.iu.edu. And check out their podcast, MoneySmarts, too

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Indiana University classes in the fall 2020 term started in-person and online and, after the Thanksgiving break, will end online-only. This was by design. In the spring, the model reverses itself. The first three weeks will be online only, before returning to a mixed in-person and online schedule. Again, this is by design, but it does create some unique challenges, and opportunities, for student and faculty.

Dr. Greg Siering the director for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Indiana University – Bloomington joins us to talk about emerging best practices in teaching remote and hybrid classes, building community with students in a virtual setting and the services that CITL provides to faculty.

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Our economic recovery will likely be gradual, and spikes in coronavirus cases could directly impact those improvements going forward. That’s part of the new economic forecast from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business scholars. Their new report suggests we still may experience some difficulties in the workforce, despite continued, if slower, improvements into 2021.

Dr. Kyle Anderson, of the Kelley School of Business, said he feels optimistic about Indiana’s position compared to many other states in that recovery. Listen to our conversation to find out why.

Click the player to hear the interview, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or on Stitcher. You can also get the feed from Spotify, TuneIn, or Anchor.