How would you solve the student debt crisis?

[muon2]

For students looking at public universities, but are worried about debt, I recommend community college for the first couple of years. Most courses, especially required courses, ohlne would take in the first two years can be found at community colleges. I know a number of students in the last decade who managed costs very well this way.

Do you think that students at community colleges have access to anything resembling the academic or social support available to the most successful students at four-year public schools? It's difficult to find data that shows how comparable students perform at different kinds of institutions because the student populations are so different. I know that many students do very well by starting out at a community college, but I'm skeptical of the idea that it provides a comparable learning environment for students.

Also, for what it's worth, it's difficult for me to put my personal experience aside: The best thing that happened to me when I left for college was that I was surrounded by other highly motivated students. I know plenty of people who have enrolled at community colleges, and all of them complained about how the lack of seriousness from (at least some of) their classmates affected their studies. In the most extreme cases, this extended to students involved in violent crime and gang activity on campus. In other words, some of our community colleges in New York State are beginning to the kinds of problems that we usually associate with the worst urban high schools. If debt were my only alternative to avoiding that, I would take on the debt.

I can speak to my experience teaching for over two decades at a non-flagship state university. We actively tracked our majors and included whether they were transfers from CCs or were native freshmen. Transfers were distributed from urban (Chicago/Cook), suburban and rural CCs. In our department it was about half from each group and there were no measurable differences in academic performance. In terms of motivation we found that the CC transfers were more likely to immediately continue studies in our MS or PhD program, so they were certainly not at a disadvantage in that regard either.

I was just reading Robert Putnam's new(ish) book, Our Kids, and I just saw some numbers that made me want to bump this conversation.

Among students who enroll at community colleges, no fewer than 81% say that they intend to complete a four-year degree. The number who actually do is only 12%.

Those are terrible odds. I don't care how hard-working or committed or prepared a student is, it ought to give them pause. If a four-year school gives them a better chance at graduating, there's a good chance that five-figure loans are worth improving those odds, at least on average. There might be circumstances under which attending community college makes sense, but I'm not sure how you can tout it as a solution for more than a handful of students in good conscience.

Interesting statistics. The numbers I based my comments on were from those CC students who had transferred to a 4-year, and they had success rates similar to students who started at the 4-year. Your source would seem to suggest that a large population who attend CCs and think they will go to 4-year schools never in fact transfer to a 4-year school. If they did transfer then they would fall in the population I described with comparable outcomes. So what are the factors stopping the CC students from transferring to 4-year schools to complete a degree?

[pho]

What is the crisis exactly? If you borrow money, you are expected to pay it back per the terms of your loan agreement. Students should do their own CBA on attending college and decide for themselves whether the debt is worth it.

[Kingpoleon]

Ironically, many of those who profit from our corrupt, wealth-driven university system...are the same university people voting for Sanders. Though that might not actually stop him from reforming the system if he were put in a position to do so.

Your typical high-level, six- or seven-figure salary university administrator (or board member) is basically a textbook Clinton supporter/bundler.

The "education-industrial complex" has been firmly embedded within the Democratic Party's infrastructure for a long time. Some of this influence has been benevolent, other parts... not so much. That's just how interest group politics work. Unfortunately, the interests of students have never been organized enough or well-financed enough to serve as a counterweight to that influence in state or national politics.

To quell my curiosity, I just looked up university trustee donations.

I was actually wrong and you were right about their political leanings. I stand corrected.

Though I don't see anything benevolent about it. These are the people who have created the student loan crisis and all of the misery that has inflicted our students. They are disgusting since they're just a more successful version of Wall Street.

If you measure success in ratio of profit:initial investment, yes. If you factor in harm done to humans negatively, no, they are less successful than Wall Street. They do far more harm to our next generation of innovators.

[MK]

First, it's not a crisis.  Second, I would stop telling kids that college is the best thing to do after High School for everybody.   Third, I would encourage kids going to college to NOT take out excessive loans.  You can be poor and graduate college without stupid amounts of debt.  People do it all the time.  Yeah, it will be harder and maybe longer.  So?  Will it be harder than making loan payments for the next 30 years?  Probably not.

This is what really needs to be said ,but sadly we become the facebook nation were college has to be on your list of requirements.   

No, they shouldn't be bailed out for making a foolish financial decision.  I make 30k a year and I decide to get a auto loan on car thats 50K should I then be bailed out because now I'm up to my eyeballs in debt?     

[Seneca]

A Debt Jubilee. Not just for student loans, all debt should be wiped out.

[beaver2.0]

Pay off loans on obviously scammy schools.  Help everyone to a certain degree.  Maybe have some sort of way that they can pay it off through military service or civil service.  Also, bring back jobs so people don't have to college in the first place.

[Boston Bread]

In no particular order, I'd support:

1. Cap tuition increases to inflation.
2. A need-based program to fund tuition; it would be free for students in poverty.
3. Limit enrolment in degrees that are not useful.
4. Cut college expenses that are not academic or work related.
5. Cover student debt payments until they find a full time job with decent pay.
6. Regulate private schools and get rid of the really bad/fraudulent ones. (this is barely a problem in Canada but is out of control in the States)

[Associate Justice PiT]

In no particular order, I'd support:

1. Cap tuition increases to inflation.
2. A need-based program to fund tuition; it would be free for students in poverty.
3. Limit enrolment in degrees that are not useful.
4. Cut college expenses that are not academic or work related.
5. Cover student debt payments until they find a full time job with decent pay.
6. Regulate private schools and get rid of the really bad/fraudulent ones. (this is barely a problem in Canada but is out of control in the States)

     Who would cover it? The implication may be the government, but I would posit something else. The schools need to acknowledge the problem of graduating people from programs where little prospect for future careers, and you refer to this problem in one of your earlier points. If they feel the pinch of their students who cannot pay their loans, then we can begin to take steps to curb the enrollment of unnecessary degrees in as organic a fashion as possible.

[Lothal1]

End the Pell Grants, they encourage inflation in the tuition and abuse by the universities. Also, remove affirmative action and change it to be based on income.

[ingemann]

Offer free education in public colleges to degrees with a clear future in the work force, if they have the necessary SAT points, and leave private colleges to the rich and the stupid (or lazy). In a generation you have gotten rid of all of the bad colleges, and you only have the public and the best private colleges left, and any debt people have is their own fault.

[dead0man]

but what about poor people that want to learn about Incan pottery?

[MK]

Offer free education in public colleges to degrees with a clear future in the work force, if they have the necessary SAT points, and leave private colleges to the rich and the stupid (or lazy). In a generation you have gotten rid of all of the bad colleges, and you only have the public and the best private colleges left, and any debt people have is their own fault.

Right direction here. Local tech schools and colleges should go back to offering job related training courses(free) for jobs that are locally in need.   If you desire to get higher more advanced education then that's on your tab.

[Frodo]

Make community colleges (I would encourage students to fulfill their introductory college course requirements there) and vocational schools tuition free -and keep the current system for those students who want to go on and complete their bachelor's and master's degrees at a traditional four-year college or university.  

[RaphaelDLG]

This is an amazing thread.  I agree with many of the solutions listed.  I generally agree that
1) a lot more money should be spent subsidizing education that is valuable to our economy (i.e., a lot of money should be thrown on people looking for high tech degrees) for low income and middle class people that have worked hard and are ready, not loans but actual subsidies and
2) the cost of education is spiraling out of control for stupid reasons vaguely similar to healthcare and growth their must be curbed.

I would add:
1) Spend a lot of money tracking the ROI of graduates of different majors at different colleges.  Market this information aggressively and provide high school students and their parents with a federal counselor who will help them make an informed decision about which college to attend, what to major in.  We don't need a society of people focused on ignoring their passions and  just picking literally the most cost-effective school or the most lucrative major, but we need students to actually be thinking about these concepts to both help drive the cost of college down and to make sure we have Americans with the particular skills our economy needs.
2) Brutally crackdown on for-profit colleges that buy congressmen and regularly receive slaps on the wrist as a consequence when they should really be sued