Student loan grace period ends
UC economist tells WLWT the change will be good for the economy
Student loan grace periods that were designed to help borrowers ease out of the COVID-19 pandemic are ending this week, WLWT reported.
Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics
Of the approximately 40 million people with student loan debt, approximately 7 million are in default.
Michael Jones, PhD, assistant professor of economics in the University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business, said borrowers who are in default now will face consequences such as an inability to get additional loans. Money also could be withheld from paychecks, and credit scores could be damaged.
“Over the last several years, it's been out of sight, out of mind, because a lot of those borrowers haven't had to worry about the consequences,” Jones said. “But if you don't do that, if you don't get on a payment plan where you start making payments every month, then those reports are going to be going to the credit bureau.”
Jones thinks the changes will be positive for the economy.
“I think that'll be good, honestly, for the economy as a whole, because it means that those individuals are going to start paying those loans back,” he said. “And it will encourage future borrowers to know that if they don't pay those loans back, then there will be consequences as well.”
Featured image at top: A man using a calculator. Photo/Towfiqu barbhuiya
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC doctoral student shares his journey with Spectrum News
July 27, 2026
UC doctoral student Amota Ataneka spoke with Spectrum News about his educational journey. Ataneka, a native of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, is one of 35 emerging scholars across the United States to win the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
How scammers can persuade you with AI
July 27, 2026
Spectrum News recently dove into how cloning voices with artificial intelligence is making it easier to scam people over the phone. The news outlet spoke with Kimberly Hyun, assistant professor of marketing at UC’s Lindner College of Business, to examine why AI is making it so much easier to trick people.
The subtle changes in hearing you should never ignore
July 24, 2026
It’s easy to dismiss changes in hearing as minor. But as The Washington Post recently reported, these symptoms could also signal a medical emergency that many people don’t recognize — known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a rapid decline in hearing that occurs suddenly or over a few days.