In case you have not noticed lately, colleges across the nation are becoming increasingly more expensive every year – The University of Alabama included. I do not doubt that when the Board of Trustees meets in June, tuition will be raised to cover the rightfully due retirement mandate and also a lack of state and federal funding.
Since there is a disgraceful lack of federal funds for the Pell Grant, the historically best means for students to access higher education, the cost of the increasing tuition is passed onto students. These students then resort to student loans from the federal government and Sallie Mae. Indeed, the aggregate student loan debt across the nation now stands at $1.08 trillion and rising, according to the Federal Reserve of New York.
The frightening statistics continue: According to the Institute for College Access and Success, seven out of 10 students in the collegiate class of 2012 graduated with an average debt of around $29,400. The burden of these loans on an individual may last for years, decades and even entire lifetimes. Recent graduates now have to ask themselves, “How can I pay off my student loans?” rather than the more important, “What should I do with my life?” Often for college graduates, these two questions are depressingly one and the same.
But the student loan debt crisis does not only affect students. Many economists believe that the burden of student debt will hinder GDP growth and consumption for years to come. They also believe that the housing recovery will begin to slow down as first-time buyers are becoming less and less qualified for loans due to the burden of student loan debt.
Interestingly enough, possessing student loan debt before the Great Recession was positively correlated with owning a mortgage. Possessing student loan debt meant being highly educated, earning higher income and possessing more financial capital – all characteristics that pointed to a higher chance of being a homeowner. Now, that dynamic is completely different: Possessing student loan debt implies a highly educated status, but not exactly one in possession of a high-paying job, financial capital or both.
Of course, student loans are a necessity for higher education and always will be. Because of the large influx of money targeted towards students, more students than ever before are able to access higher education – which is amazing. Furthermore, the average return on a college degree is still quite high. Yet, I’m left wondering whether college is adding value to students, or are students basically buying the diploma, and thus the value, through student loans?
Two findings illustrate the uselessness of college: First, 45 percent of students show no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning or written communications during their first two years in college. (Later results indicate little improvement in their junior or senior years, too.) Second, most students said their courses required little effort and only studied slightly more than 12 hours per week on average. These bring into the question the outputs of higher education and cast doubt on the belief that college adds value to students.
Perhaps, then, students solely attend college to basically buy the diploma and be perceived as highly educated. That is a dismally scary prospect for professors, administrators and society as a whole. Rather, I choose to believe it is a combination of both: college adds a little value for a lot of cost. Well, that is a scary prospect, too, but at least I receive a little education.
Patrick Crowley is a junior majoring in mathematics, finance and economics. His column runs weekly.
