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College Debt Pricing Students Out of Some Public-Service Careers

Posted on: Friday, 7 April 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Steve Hinnefeld, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.

Apr. 7--Federal and state grants have helped Indiana University senior Garrett Scharton pay for college, but he still had to borrow to cover the cost of housing, meals and other expenses.

Needing to pay off debt, he turned away from his initial career goal of becoming a music teacher.

"I have been fortunate and received a tremendous amount of assistance, but the need is still there," he said.

Scharton was one of several Indiana students who took part Thursday in an Indianapolis news conference on the growing burden of college debt. The Indiana Public Interest Research Group staged the event in conjunction with the release of "Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt's Negative Impact on Public Service Career Opportunities."

The report by the state public interest groups' Higher Education Project says college debt is pricing increasing numbers of graduates out of public-service careers, such as teaching and social work. It says:

-- In Indiana, 28 percent of public university graduates and 46 percent of private college graduates would face "unmanageable" debt payments on a starting teacher's salary.

-- Nationally, 37 percent of graduates of public institutions and 55 percent of graduates of private institutions couldn't manage their debt on a starting social worker's salary.

The numbers are based on a formula that estimates the debt-to-salary ratio that young workers can handle without "significant economic hardship."

The report says two-thirds of college graduates now have student loans, up from one-third in 1993.

At IU, 44 percent of 2004-05 graduates took out loans, according to university figures. They owed an average of $21,251.

The report calls on the government to increase need-based grants; create more affordable loan-repayment terms; promote consumer protection for student borrowers; and give colleges incentives to control tuition costs.

"We're trying to combat this burdensome debt that prevents many students from going into the career field they're interested in," said Brendon Liner, an IU sophomore and coordinator of InPIRG's Student Debt Alert campaign.

Liner, a political science major from Los Angeles, said he worked 30 hours a week last year but cut back to spend time working on student issues. "The trade-off to me participating in groups like InPIRG is I'm going to have more debt after graduation," he said.

Scharton, from Greenwood, said federal Pell grants and the Indiana 21st Century Scholars program made it possible for him to attend IU. But he still had to borrow, and he switched his major from music education to political science in part because he didn't think he could repay his loans as a music teacher. He plans to attend graduate school on a scholarship.

"Daily living expenses force students to take out extra loans, and these loans put an undue burden on students," he said.

Some Indiana students were attending a hearing by the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education Thursday and today at the Indianapolis Hilton. The panel, appointed last fall, will make recommendations on college accountability, access and other issues.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.

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Source: Herald-Times

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