For both current and prospective business owners and their employees, student loan debt can be a crushing burden.

The vast majority of graduates and/or their parents are only vaguely aware of the options available to them, but have no specific information on how to choose or apply them effectively. Beaufort County Community College will hold a free seminar on the subject at 6 p.m. Thursday in Building 8.

Student debt can have an impact on graduates in the decade, if not longer, after finishing college.

The amount of outstanding student loan debt stands at $1.2 trillion, according to the Los Angeles Times. This affects graduates’ ability to apply for additional credit, including getting a mortgage or picking up a business loan. The majority of students will leave college with at least $10,000 in debt, and 1 in 4 will leave with $30,000 in debt. Even if a business owner is able to pick up a loan, a business might not immediately produce the cash flow needed to cover the monthly loan payments.

In this presentation, participants will learn the difference between various student-loan repayment plans, as well as how to switch plans as debt holders’ circumstances change. The seminar will cover loan forgiveness, the advantages of consolidating government loans to substantially lower monthly payments, how to pay off student loans at an accelerated pace and how reducing monthly student-loan payments can be incorporated into a comprehensive plan to eliminate other types of debt.

Greg Frank, owner of the Financial Fitness Center & Superior Credit Care, will lead the seminar.

He brings more than 15 years of experience in the debt and credit field to his work. In addition to being a consumer advocate specializing in debt and credit issues, Frank is also coauthor of the popular textbook, “Invest in Your Debt.”

This seminar is available through the Small Business Center at the Continuing Education Department at BCCC. To register, call 252-940-6375 or email continuingeducation@beaufortccc.edu.