The hundreds of students at IntroDUCKtion who are set to enter the University this fall may face a different future from those who are already on campus.
If they’re taking out loans to fund their education, they will face graduation with far more debt than any of their predecessors, a new study shows.
The office of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group is working to increase awareness of the issue of student debt and created the report titled “Student Debt and Consumer Costs in the Willamette Valley.”
According to the report, the average amount of student loan debt increased by 107 percent between 1993 and 2004. The average undergraduate student will leave college carrying a burden of more than $19,000 in student loan debt, which is roughly $2,000 more than this year’s graduating class.
The report also highlights the relationship between the rise in student loan debt and the rise of the cost of living in the Willamette Valley. In the same time period that has seen astronomical rise in average loan debt, the overall cost of living in the area has increased by 32 percent, which is roughly equal to the national inflation rate.
The sharp increase in the amount of debt is the result of a confluence of factors, said Luke Swarthout, OSPIRG’s higher education associate in Washington D.C. and author of the student debt report. Many states have seen cuts in state appropriations to universities, which lead to higher tuition costs. At the same time, the federal government has neglected to increase the amount of money available through the Pell Grant program, keeping the amount available per student per year frozen at $4,050, Swarthout said.
Colin McKellips, Citizen Outreach Director for the state OSPIRG office, also said the lack of state and federal support for higher education, along with increasing interest rates, has led to the sharp increase in the amount students have to borrow.
McKellips said OSPIRG is concerned that graduating with significant debt has a tremendous impact on students’ ensuing quality of life. The debt affects every aspect of a student’s life, including something as simple as career choice. Students who need to pay off a large amount of debt may choose higher paying jobs over those they really want or over jobs in the social service or public interest areas, McKellips said.
According to Swarthout’s report, 23 percent of four-year college graduates are unable to pay their student loans on a starting teacher’s salary, and 37 percent would be unable to pay the bills with a social worker’s salary.
“Colleges and Universities play a really important role in training our citizens and leaders,” McKellips said. “College is supposed to give you the opportunity to contribute to society. (Large debt) limits your career options”
Students with a lot of debt may also have to delay major life decisions such as the purchase of homes and the decision to start families, said McKellips.
High school graduates could potentially look at student debt statistics and decide not to attend college, McKellips said.
OSPIRG’s campaign to raise awareness about student debt is designed to attract attention to a hot political issue, Swarthout said. With the midterm elections approaching, OSPIRG wants anyone affected by student loan debt to bring the issue to the attention of public officials.
“We hope this is an issue that necessitates a responses from public officials,” Swarthout said. “This affects millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Oregonians every year.”
Swarthout said the OSPIRG debt campaign is just starting to bring attention to the issue in the hopes that citizens will take the issue to the politicians who have the power to make changes in the system.
“This particular project is about highlighting the issue and sounding the alarm.
We think the issue needs more attention at the federal, state and campus levels,” he said.