Student Debt
The Debt Crisis
Student debt is a serious issue for college students. American students average roughly $21,000 in loan debt upon graduation. The problem is especially tough for students at Iowa colleges and universities. As of 2008, students in Iowa were ranked number one for having the highest student debt upon graduation in the. Of the colleges and universities in Iowa, ISU students have the most student debt.
Skyrocketing Costs
From 1997 to 2007, total cost of attending Iowa State University has increased 71.2%, including a tuition and fees hike of 119.1%! And between ISU, UNI, and Iowa, average debt for graduating seniors with debt was $26,208. Today, Iowa State students graduate owing an average of $30,000.
How did we get here?
A special taskforce made up of Student Body Presidents, Vice Presidents of Business and Finance, Directors of Student Financial Aid, University Foundation Presidents, and others was created this year by the State of Iowa Board of Regents to help answer this question and provide a plan of action to help solve the problem. The charge of this task force created by Board of Regents President Miles is to analyze the issues of student debt of students graduating from Iowa’s public universities, review recommendations from a previously authored report, and provide a detailed working plan of action for the Board to take in addressing access and affordability, and the student debt issue.
The link below is of the report made by the first taskforce identifying the key contributing issues along with the taskforce’s recommendations.
Solving the Problem
The taskforce made several recommendations and is currently formulating a final report of how to achieve these recommendations. Below is a link to the report recommendations:
SiteGSB leading the Charge!
The GSB believes that the student debt crisis is the number one issue facing our graduates. We applaud the effort of the Board of Regents and our University, but recognize that we must play key role in enacting change. We will be facing this issue by working with the University Administration, state government, Federal government, and of course you the students. Utilizing our governmental relations organization the ISU Ambassadors we will begin contacting state legislators and Iowa’s federal congressional delegation to lobby for a variety of important policy changes. Below are the changes we want to see enacted:
- Increase the amount of general aid grant funding from the state. Right now only 6% of the 53 million dollar allocated for higher education student grants is eligible for students who attend one of the three public Regent Universities. The remaining 94% is earmarked for students who attend private colleges and universities. We want to lobby to level the playing field by either increasing the amount reserved for Regent University students or eliminate the division, and allow students to take their grant money to any Iowa college or university, public or private.
- Work with the Iowa College Student Aid Commission and the state legislature to investigate various tax breaks for companies who offer loan forgiveness to their employees.
- Advocate for President Obama’s plan to increase the Federal Pell Grant program.
- Analyze the available resources in the Student Financial Aid department.
- Advocate and remind all students to fill out the new simplified FASFA application.
- Freezing all increase to the student activity fee and the other mandatory asset fees
- Encouraging students to utilize the Four-Year Plans
