Recent reports point to soaring student loan debt and high rates of default as impediments to financial security for millions of Americans. A number of colleges and universities have addressed the issue with initiatives ranging from financial fixes to bold new models of higher education. The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) reported that student loan debt now averages $26,600, and the U.S. Department of Education announced that 13 percent of student loan borrowers are defaulting in the first three years of repayment. A key player in these efforts is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which supports TICAS and other organizations and institutions tackling the student loan debt challenge. Another example of an institution-based initiative is the Student Loan Relief Program at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, which this year pledges to cap at $10,000 any federal loans for qualifying entering students receiving institutional grants up to $30,000. Current programs, Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), allow borrowers to make affordable monthly student loan payments over an extended period of time.