Tens of millions of Americans together owe more than a trillion dollars in student debt. For the financial health of their households and the entire economy, ensuring a fair and smoothly functioning student loan system is critically important.

But with a series of regulatory changes, the Trump administration is taking us in the wrong direction, making student loans riskier, more expensive and more burdensome for borrowers.

First, the Education Department has weakened accountability for the companies that administer student loans. Second, it has made it more difficult for borrowers to apply for, and stay enrolled in, income-based payment plans. Third, Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, has given banks more leeway to charge borrowers high fees — as much as 16 percent of the balance owed — if they fall behind.

Less Accountability for Loan Companies

Federal Student Aid, the agency within the Education Department that oversees student loans, outsources loan servicing to private companies. The largest of them is Navient, formerly a part of Sallie Mae. Companies like Navient are the face of the student loan system, and often the source of enormous frustration for borrowers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has documented thousands of cases in which loan companies have misdirected payments, lost paperwork and charged the wrong interest rate on loans.