There is a solution that can make college more accessible and affordable for middle- and lower-income students: tuition deferment. Colleges should offer an alternative to traditional loan programs by allowing students to defer up to 75 percent of the cost of attending school — tuition, room, board and fees — and pay it back over 20 years.

Repayment would be based on a sliding percentage of what the student defers and then later earns. So a graduate who becomes a teacher would pay far less than one who becomes an investment banker. (Government loan programs have begun offering income-based repayment options, and their popularity is surging. That’s because the monthly payments are affordable, capped at 15 percent of disposable income, which has resulted in lower default rates. As of July, new borrowers are capped at 10 percent.)

College-based tuition deferment would be more attractive to students than government (or private) loans because the interest rates could be much lower. Federal loan programs charge students 4.66 percent plus an origination fee of 1.1 percent. For parents who are creditworthy, the government’s interest rate is an outrageously high 7.21 percent, plus an origination fee of 4.3 percent. Plus there are annual limits on the amount students can borrow ranging from $5,500 to $7,500. As a result, families with spottier credit histories are forced to turn to private loans, which are currently charging as much as 12 percent interest.

In a tuition-deferment plan, it is the college that is borrowing capital to offset its cash-flow needs because of the deferred tuition, not the student or parent. The college’s borrowing cost would be substantially lower than what individuals have to pay for current loan programs because colleges have collateral: endowments, physical assets and future cash flow. The resulting interest rate passed along to student participants could be as low as car loans (around 3 percent) or home mortgages (around 3.5 percent).

So why would colleges take on the risk of students’ defaulting and the cost of implementing a tuition deferment plan? Because it is in their self-interest to do so. Colleges are facing serious problems with middle-class families because of out-of-control tuition hikes and out-of-sync priorities. I spoke recently to 300 college presidents, admissions deans and financial aid directors at the College Board’s annual Higher Ed Colloquium. My talk was based on recent survey research of families by the education site Noodle.