Daniel A. Collier

Assistant Professor of Higher and Adult Education, University of Memphis

Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Daniel

@dcollier74.bsky.social

About Daniel

Collier is a nationally recognized expert on student loan debt and repayment, tuition-free policy, and student basic needs. His work can be read in outlets like Research in Higher Education and Innovative Higher Education– with additional mentions in mass media outlets like The Economist, Yahoo Finance!, Nerdwallet, and Inside Higher Education. Recently, he was recognized as a top influencer of higher education by The Chronicle of Higher Educations’ Quarter Century Project.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Dr. Daniel A. Collier's Public Comment on the U.S. Department of Education's Proposed Title IV Regulations

Public Comment, May 2025

In the News

Quoted by Johanna Alonso in "Law Schools Launch Loan Programs to Fill Graduate Funding Gap," Inside Higher Ed, March 26, 2026.

Quoted by Jessica Blake and Katherine Knott in "McMahon Touts First Year in Office; Dems and Students Push Back," Inside Higher Ed, March 5, 2026.

Opinion: "Back on Track: Why Student Loan Visual Trackers Should Be Restored Immediately," Daniel A. Collier, Inside Higher Ed, February 17, 2026.

Quoted by Jack Stripling in "The Quarter-Century Project," The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 10, 2025.

Research discussed by self and Mark Huelsman, in "Deep Dive: New Research Shows the Profound Impact of Debt on Perceptions of Higher Ed," Protect Borrowers, November 20, 2025.

Guest on Exploring Meaning, Dignity, and Community in the South and Beyond, September 26, 2025.

Opinion: "It’s Not 2008 Anymore," Daniel A. Collier (with Michael Kofoed), Inside Higher Ed, June 4, 2025.

Publications

"Hard to Concentrate: Using a Sequential Mixed Methods Design to Examine the Unique Effects of PSLF Student Loan Balances and Remaining Payments on Subjective Well-Being" (with Daniel Fitzpatrick), Social Science Research Network (No. 5239265), June 2025.

Examines how student loan balances and remaining payments uniquely affect financial and mental health outcomes.

"Pause and Effect: Examining the Dynamics of the Student Loan Pause and the Challenges of Resuming Payments for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Borrowers" (with Dan Fitzpatrick, Chloe Fann, Frederick Engram, Carol Bruzzano, and Mecca Keyes), University of California Student Loan Law Initiative, April 2024.

Delves into the experiences and sense-making of borrowers enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, focusing on the impact of the student loan debt pause (The Pause) and the looming resumption of repayments. Reveals that The Pause alleviated borrowers' mental distress, enabling them to bolster savings, reduce other debts, and reconsider familial planning. However, the return to loan payments heightened mental distress, leading borrowers to contemplate strategies such as cost-cutting, drawing down savings, and seeking additional income through secondary employment.

"Coming to College Hungry: How Food Insecurity Relates to Amotivation, Stress, Engagement, and First-Semester Performance in a Four-Year University" (with Dan Fitzpatrick, Chelsea Brehm, and Eric Archer). Journal of Postsecondary Student Success 1, no. 1 (2021): 106-135.

Examines first-year students’ food insecurity links to non-cognitive attributes and first-semester performance and persistence. Findings strengthen limited evidence that food insecurity links to college students’ experience, suggesting groups of already-underserved students may need immediate support to ease food insecurity.

"Another Lesson on Caution in IDR Analysis: Using the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances to Examine Income-Driven Repayment and Financial Outcomes" (with Dan Fitzpatrick and Christopher R. Marsicano). Journal of Student Financial Aid 50, no. 2 (2021).

Uses the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) 2019 dataset to explore characteristics of enrollees in Income-Driven Repayment (IDR). Findings support an ongoing need to encourage greater IDR participation for lowest-income borrowers and reinforce greater participation by female borrowers.