Sources: President Joe Biden set to announce student debt relief Wednesday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ.)

Multiple sources say President Joe Biden is set to announce student debt relief on Wednesday.

News outlets like CNN and the Associated Press say the Biden Administration is considering canceling $10,000 in student loan debt for people making less than $125,000.

Christian Basi, spokesman for the University of Missouri, said the university will continue to support its students to ensure success after graduation regardless of what's announced. Basi also said he believes this could help bring students back to campus who currently can't afford tuition because of student debt. 

Basi says the university already puts efforts in to make sure students don't drown in debt after graduation. 

"Typically about half of our students have no student debt at all," Basi said.

Several outlets report that in addition to his plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans, Biden will also extend a pause on payments to January. The current payment freeze extension is expected to expire at the end of August. 

Around 43 million Americans are currently in student debt and student debt nationwide is at $1.6 trillion, according to the Associated Press.  A third of those people owe fewer than $10,000 dollars and more than a half owe less than $20,000.

To prevent adding to this number, Basi says MU has an office of financial success which helps lower student debt. The university even provides loan counseling to students to make sure they're asking the right questions before taking out a loan. 

"What are the expenses that I need to pay for and do I even need to take this loan or am I financially stable enough that I don't need that extra money and therefore this extra debt load when I graduate?" Basi said.

According to the education data initiative, there are currently $29.5 billion in student debt loans in Missouri.