Group wants student debt burden relaxed

ALMA D. SHARPE, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Saturday, March 9, 2002

OLYMPIA -- Student advocates called on state leaders Friday to increase funding for financial aid programs, arguing that college debt has become a "ball and chain'' that students carry for years after graduation.

Members of WashPIRG, the state chapter of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said recent federal statistics show that 64 percent of students nationwide graduate with some debt, while 39 percent face loan payments that amount to more than 8 percent of their income after graduation.

Double the debt

In the past decade, student debt across the nation has doubled to almost $17,000 upon graduation, they said.

The planned tuition increase resulting from the current state budget problems will only increase the problem, said Chelsea Bunn, vice chairwoman of WashPIRG.

"It's only going to get worse," Bunn said.

Recent statistics by the U.S. Department of Education's National Postsecondary Student Aid Study show that debt is higher among minority and low-income students.

Fifty-five percent of black students, 58 percent of Hispanic students and 71 percent of low-income students leave college with debt.

At The Evergreen State College, 60 percent of students receive financial aid and, for 40 percent of them, the aid comes in the form of loans.

For the past three years, the average graduate leaves with $12,000 debt. That's up about $1,000 from previous years.

Students want state officials to work with lenders to expand repayment options for students and reduce penalties for deferment and forbearance of loans, said Stacey Valentin of the Washington Student Lobby.

Students want to avoid tuition increases and see a jump in state financial aid, as well as a constitutional guarantee of funding higher education similar to that enjoyed by kindergarten-through-12th-grade public schools, Valentin said. "What we want is a re-commitment from our state to higher education."

Students are beginning to see debt as inevitable in their pursuit of a college degree.

Megan MacClellan, an Evergreen junior, already is $10,000 in debt, and she expects to borrow more before graduation.

While she qualifies for a tuition waiver through a state program, her loans allow her to pay for living expenses.

"It's going to make it really hard when I get out of school," she said. "I will end up paying double by the time I finish paying with interest and all."

No pain, no gain

Yet many students continue to believe the debt is a worthwhile expense, said Marla Skelley, director of financial aid at Evergreen.

"A college education increases your earning potential, and when you think about it, $12,000 or $15,000 is less than the cost of a car," Skelley said. "We talk to students about the ramifications, but the reality is that borrowing ... is what the majority of the students have to do."

It's not likely to get easier any time soon.

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, said the state's efforts to make up for a gap of $1.6 billion in the budget will inevitably lead to tuition increases and program cuts.

"If we don't increase tuition some, it would certainly reduce the quality of the degrees" because there would be further program cuts, she said, "and we know they don't want that."

Former governors Booth Gardner and Daniel J. Evans are working to try to find ways to finance higher education outside of the state's general budget.

Options include lottery, new tax proposals, and levies such as those used to support local school districts.

But it's hard to see a way out of continued tuition increases and program cuts, Kohl-Welles said.

"It's going to keep some students from re-enrolling for next year -- more students are going to work more hours and others are going to go into more debt. I don't like that," she said.

"But we also don't want to drain away the quality of the institutions to the point where it's hard to get it back."

Alma D. Sharpe covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-4226 or asharpe@olympia.gannett.com.

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