I am the Owner/Operator of a Private Post Secondary, Cosmetology, School in Texas. We are a relatively newer school going on five (5) years of operating. Newer schools are not able to receive any Federal Funding, no FAFSA; Pell Grants, Student Loans (un/subsidized, Parent Plus, etc.) nor any educational VA benefits. As the process of qualifying schools to receive the benefits takes years, we have allowed our students to pay tuition in one (1) of two (2) ways. 

Option One (1): Interest Free In House Financing - Students make monthly payments directly to The Academy. Balances must be paid in full by the time of graduation. Thus the entire balance of tuition must be paid in roughly six (6) to ten (10) months, depending on the course of study. If at any time during enrollment a student's payment is more than five (5) days past the due date the student may not return to The Academy until the payment is received. If the student does not attend school for ten (10) consecutive scheduled school days, they are then dropped from The Academy, and the Refund Policy as set forth by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations is followed. 

Option Two (2): Third Party Financing - Students may finance their tuition through a Third Party allowing them to make payments while attending The Academy and after graduation from The Academy. Resulting in smaller, easier to manage monthly payments. Students pay no interest rates while attending school, and ONLY a 3% interest rate upon graduation. Compared to the 12%-18% interest rates on Federal Student Loans. If the student is up to date on all payments at the time of graduation, then upon reporting the students final hours and dropping them on the TDLR website, we select the check box for "Balance Paid or Payment Arrangements Made" thus allowing them to obtain all earned hours, take the State Board Exams and become licensed in their field of study. 

Upon graduating students who have chosen Option Two (2), Third Party Financing, is where we, like so many other Private Post Secondary Schools all across the State of Texas, are running into major issues, as the vast majority of students simply cease payments upon gaining licensure. 

We would like to bring this issue to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations Advisory Board, as well as propose a solution and begin the process of passing new legislation. 

We believe that every two (2) years, when a licensed professional is up for the renewal of their license, if said person has defaulted on their payments and are in collections to their Texas Educational Institution, then their license should be held as non-renewable until back payments have resumed, and a regular payment schedule has been established. 

To put this issue into perspective our school alone has accumulated ,in less than five (5) years, $375,462.32 in unpaid tuition. This is money that could be used to provide staff raises, send educators to advanced education classes, hire more educators and a higher caliber of educators, etc.  

All in all recouping even a portion of this lost revenue, and stopping any further loss, would allow Texas Private Post Secondary Schools to provide students with an overall better education. As we know better education always helps to better serve our Texas communities.