Introduction: Connecting Student Loan Research and Federal Policy

This article introduces this volume, which is dedicated to expanding a theory- and evidence-based understanding of student loan problems. The authors review evidence to address fundamental questions related to student loan research: who borrows, why, and the consequences of debt for specific student populations. The authors outline how the articles collected in the volume address these fundamental questions, and discuss ways in which federal policy-makers may build on the insights that can be gained from this volume as they work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.