Vol.15 No.8 April 2001
Controlling Student Debt
STUDENT DEBT has become as much a part of college life as backpacks and football games. Where once a diligent student could cobble together tuition and fees from a combination of parental support, summer and part-time jobs, and scholarships, it is now much more common for a student to graduate with a substantial debt to pay off with the earnings from that first job.
The numbers might be surprising. According the U.S. Department of Education, 55 percent of students in their final year of a private, four-year college had borrowed to defray college expenses, with average debt ranging from $8,500 to $17,900. Similarly, 51 percent of public, four-year college students had borrowed, with typical debt ranging from $5,000 to $14,500. Even students who selected a public, two-year school were not immune to borrowing. Nearly one-third, 31 percent, of these students had borrowed, with debt typically ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. [back to top]
MORE THAN HALF BORROW
Even more interesting is the data from a longitudinal study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. It studied the cohort of students who received bachelor's degrees in 1992-93 to learn about their level of borrowing for both undergraduate and graduate study.
Of this group of students, a full 56 percent borrowed money for some portion of their education, with total borrowing over both undergraduate and graduate study averaging $15,612. Not surprisingly, students with bachelor's degrees from private, four-year colleges were more likely to borrow to complete their bachelor's degree than their colleagues at public, four-year schools (45 percent versus 40 percent). And, students of private education amassed a greater debt burden over their undergraduate and graduate study. Students from private, four-year institutions averaged $19,528 in debt, while their public school counterparts borrowed an average of $13,623. These totals reflect educational borrowing for the graduating class of 1992-93 by 1997, and they do not include any subsequent graduate or professional development work. [back to top]
IMPACT ON ADVANCED STUDY
Additionally, undergraduate borrowing has a small, but real, effect on the likelihood of graduate study. While 30 percent of students overall who did not borrow for their undergraduate education continued on to graduate school, just 27 percent of students with undergraduate debt did so.
Clearly, undergraduate debt is not the deciding factor for most students considering post-baccalaureate study. But equally apparent, debt may tip the scale away from continuing education in some cases. Thus, solid debt management strategies during the undergraduate education are important, especially for those students considering costly professional degrees, such as law or medicine.
How can students control their borrowing at a time when college tuition increases are out pacing inflation and show no sign of stopping? It is not enough to tell students to "borrow less." Creative and careful planning must take place now, to save valuable dollars later-dollars that might otherwise have to be paid back, with interest. [back to top]
START AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE
For some students, starting their college career at a local community or two- year college can mean significant savings in their college expenditures. "Students who complete the first two years at a community college and then transfer to a four-year institution can save $20,000 or more off the cost of a bachelor's degree," says Sarah Boggess, spokeswoman for Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York.
Some community colleges, such as Hudson Valley, have taken steps to make this option easier. "We have agreements with 38 four-year schools that allow a student to transition seamlessly to a four-year institution," explains Boggess. These types of agreeme©t plans can help a student be sure that the courses he or she takes at the community college will be accepted at the transfer college and be counted toward the degree.
Some states, Kentucky among them, have gone a step further, by instituting plans within their state university systems by which all affiliated community colleges and branch campuses employ common course numbering systems and accept course work from one another without a lengthy transfer process. [back to top]
TAKE THE RIGHT COURSES
y´hile studying at a community college, students will want to choose their courses wisely. "Students who complete their first two years at a community college should generally focus their courses on general liberal arts classes, because those types of courses are highly transferable and must be taken to complete any bachelor's degree," Boggess advises. The timing of these courses is also highly flexible. Even the student who does not wish to commit two years to full-time study at a community college can save money by taking a few general studies courses, such as English, history, fine arts or the like during their senior year of high school or during summers.
ühis can be a very economical move. Some community colleges, such as Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, offer a reduced tuition rate for residents of the county, making their courses very attractive to local high school students and college students home for the summer.
The completion of as few as 12 to 16 credits at the local community college over the course of a college career can shave a semester off a four-year degree or reduce the time needed to complete time-intensive programs, such as engineering, that are increasingly requiring five years or more to complete. [back to top]
CONSIDER A CO-OP PROGRAM
Experience shows that the best jobs go to the graduates who can bring both a degree and practical experience to the table. But how does a student do that, while saving money at the same time? Consider a co-op program.
A co-op program, short for cooperative learning, is one in which the students alternate semesters of study with semesters of working. Typically, a student will complete his or her entire first year, then begin a system of alternating a semester or quarter of full-time study with one of full time work, often with pay. Although these programs necessarily extend the amount of time that it takes to earn a degree, they more than pay for the time investment with experience and cash. [back to top]
Co-op programs have been available for years in such practical fields as engineering, in which experience is as valuable as academic training. In fact, the prevalence of co-op programs in fields such as engineering is one reason that these academic majors have acquired a reputation for taking more than four years to complete. The time required for a co-op experience is built in to the figures.
Co-oping has broken into a variety of other fields, however. For example, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, offers co-op programs in such varied areas as computer science, arts and writing, business, physical education, public administration and geography. Students interested in such options should visit a university's co-op office or, if it does not have one, their academic department and career planning offices. [back to top]
MAKE SMART DECISIONS
Regardless of the number of creative solutions that students and parents employ, most students will still need to visit a college's financial aid office. According to figures from the U.S. Department of Education, for the 1995-96 school year, almost 50 percent of undergraduates received student financial aid, with an average award package of $6,832.
When considering college choices, one question to ask is how responsive and creative is the financial aid staff? This can make thousands of dollars worth of difference in a student's college borrowing.
Consider, for example, Robert Alston, the director of financial aid at The College of New Jersey in Trenton, New Jersey. His office takes the time to encourage all students to seek cost-saving measures beyond the campus, including providing students with a list of scholarship Web sites and encouraging each student to apply for a minimum of 100 scholarships each. "There's money out there; there's money on the web," Alston says. "The only thing they can say is 'yes' or 'no'." [back to top]
Realistically, however, Alston believes that most students will still need to take some loans. For this, Alston recommends that students and parents look to loan programs that minimize interest rates and have favorable payment plans. For example, the federal government pays the interest on a government subsidized loan during the student's school years, leaving the student responsible for payment of principal and interest accrued after graduation.
For students who do not qualify for subsidized loans, Alston says that it may still be better for the student to borrow rather than the parent. For student loans, students are responsible for paying just the interest on the loan during their college study, while parents who borrow must begin paying the principal back 60 days from receiving the funds. If parents wish to participate in repayment, they may always act as cosigner on a student loan and assist in paying back interest or principal.
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FIND FORGIVENESS
Can anything be done about student educational debt once the money has been borrowed? Although options are more limited, there are still ways to deal with a hefty debt burden. For example, students pursuing certain careers may find that taking jobs in high-need areas can result in partial or full loan forgiveness.
Teachers, nurses and doctors are among the professionals for which there is a great need in inner cities and rural areas or to work with a special population. Federal or local governments may have plans in place to help repay the student loans of those who commit a certain number of years to the people who need them most. A conversation with the financial aid and career planning offices is a must for students before they begin their job search.
Debt is a fact of life, not just for college students but for everyone. Yet, with proper planning, students can reduce their academic debt to a manageable level. It is also worth remembering that the average level of student debt is still cheaper than many new cars. And which will take you further; a new car that wears out after a decade, or an education?
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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
The Real e-words in College Admissions
Communicating with today's prospective students and their families may require all the latest technologies and strategies from e-mail to e-commerce to e-marketing. But let's not forget that other important e-words have been with us for centuries. Making effective contacts and developing life-long relationships with enrolling high school students go far beyond the latest Internet and Web techniques you can employ in your admissions program. Here are a few other e-words necessary for successful recruitment:
Engage. Nothing beats an individually addressed, personal, snail mail letter to initially engage a prospect-not e-mail, not brochures and certainly not "Dear Prospective Student" or stand-alone pamphlet mass mailings. Use personal phone calls and e-mail as follow-ups in your engagement efforts. Have students and faculty help in maintaining a dialogue with prospects. Meeting friendly, helpful people means more than almost any other attribute in the courtship of prospects.
Excite. College is a whole new adventure, unlike high school or home. Re-creating the excitement of that experience is critical to each message you send. Every letter, publication and especially a college Web site should reflect the dynamism and spirit that characterize your institution. Pedantic, boring and wordy messages deny excitement and turn off readers. And when using photographs is appropriate, show images that are poignant, stimulating and indeed worth one thousand words each.
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Enlighten. The college experience is a mystery to high school students, and much of what they know has been shaped, often incorrectly, by television and movies. All messages must accurately impart insight, express concepts and explain the qualities that define an institution and differentiate it from the competition. Enlightenment comes from knowing, believing, understanding and experiencing.
Explore. College is an adventure into unexplored territory for prospects. Our job is to lead each student on an expedition that opens vistas never imagined. Discovery requires revelations about everything from classrooms to labs to libraries to studios, remembering that most full-time students spend less than a quarter of their time in traditional learning. The great majority of student time is spent socializing, eating, working at a job, as well as sleeping, volunteering and pursuing hobbies, sports and music. Prospects can explore your academic program vicariously through the brochures you send and your Web site, but a campus visit is most effective, especially if a student can stay overnight in a residence hall and meet with students, faculty, coaches and admissions counselors. [back to top]
Establish and Establishment. Showing off a school's assets is often why many prospects select a particular institution, despite all the platitudes and philosophical arguments we think students want to hear. The truth is that the establishment-ivy-covered walls, brick-and-stone facaées, modern classrooms and labs, spacious dorm rooms, trees, ponds and grassy quadrangles-count for much more than we often realize. Viewbooks, Web sites, videos and DVD's must truthfully present a campus in the best possible light.
Elevate. Raising sights and forcing an ever-higher standard is how the faculty stimulate learning. But admissions works best if it expresses the same kind of elevating process. Well-written descriptions of a college's curriculum, majors and career-planning programs set the stage for why college often becomes the most important and memorable four years in a person's lifetime. [back to top]
Equip and Elicit. Every message sent to a student must equip the prospect to take action and respond-to an 800-number, e-mail address, snail-mail addresses, to Web sites from which to download forms and to information on how and when to visit a campus. Two-way messaging also requires that every campus person who comes in contact with prospects be equipped to do so. Training, monitoring and rewarding staff are essential to the recruitment effort. Systems for eliciting and managing responses are critical throughout the entire relationship-building process with high school students.
Encompass. Words such as "college" and "university" are related to the words "collegial," "colleague," "universal" and "universe." Colleges encompass a wide array of people, ideas, knowledge and differences. Most campus cultures respect and honor each person's right to be an individual. Reflecting that quality is essential. [back to top]
Eulogize. Unlike typical businesses, colleges and universities endure for centuries, perhaps in part because they have a connection with the past, present and future. We don't think in terms of days and weeks, but rather in decades. We are living histories that eulogize our famous graduates, honor outstanding faculty and inspire the students who will perpetuate the cycle. Such examples are important ingredients in a message mix.
Endear. It's the little things that count with prospects and their families... a follow-up phone call to add a detail you forgot during an earlier conversation, a handwritten note on your "personal" note paper, an e-mail announcing a visit to the prospect's city and a birthday card. People respond in kind when you endear yourself to them. When asked what was most memorable about their experience with admissions, prospects and parents often recall the little favors done for them.
Edit. Saying too much, expressing one's self poorly, making grammatical errors-these are cardinal sins of most communications. Everyone needs a good editor. Today's typical e-mail is a particularly unfortunate victim of sloppy writing; prospects react negatively to such oversights. [back to top]
Evaluate. No matter how well one communicates the "e-words" above, there are no substitutes for asking "customers" about their experiences and the messages received from your institution. Test copy, photos, artwork and designs you use in printed and Web messages. By asking prospects and their families about their experiences with your school, you will learn (perhaps painfully) that all communications work only if they are sensitive to the listener or reader.
There are other e-words such as educate (what you do after students enroll), enchant, encourage, elaborate, edify, evoke, enthuse, examine, energize and many more. As we move toward an increasingly digital world, we must keep focused on the content of messages, not just the methods by which we send and receive them. Technology can help improve the speed and clarity of these messages, but only good communication skills can guarantee their effectiveness.
M. Fredric Volkmann is Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs,Washington University in St. Louis.
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FINANCIAL AID TRENDS
State Dollars Slow Slightly. The 1990s were a boon for education as both federal and state governments pumped billions of dollars into higher education.
Last year, however, more than half of the states budgeted fewer dollars for items such as scholarships and college operating budgets.
According to the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University, the higher education budgets of 10 states failed to keep up with inflation. However, overall spending of all 50 states did increase 7 percent or by $3.9 billion to an all-time high of $60.5 billion.
These figures cover all programs except construction. But when adjusted to the 3.5 percent inflation rate, the increase was less impressive. California led the way with a 17 percent increase. One third of all new tax dollars was allocated to higher education.
Other states with big increases, include: Alaska, 8 percent; Florida, 7 percent; Kentucky, 8 percent; Maryland 12 percent; Massachusetts, 10 percent; Michigan, 7 percent; Nebraska, 10 percent; New Jersey, 8 percent; New York, 7 percent; Ohio, 7 percent; South Carolina 8 percent; Virginia, 10 percent; Washington 7 percent; Wisconsin 9 percent; and Wyoming, 10 percent.
Overall, student aid is the biggest winner, with aggregate state allocations to scholarships and grants increasing by 12 percent. [back to top]
Scholarship Scoops
- UMass Math. Ten first-year students, plus 40 juniors and seniors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will receive National Science Foundation scholarships to study mathematics, computer science and engineering. NSF awarded the university $220,000 to fund its economically disadvantaged scholars.
- Fairfield Funds. Thanks to a $6 million gift from a Boston venture capitalist, Fairfield U in Connecticut will hand out $250,000 a year for financially needy freshmen to study English, modern languages or economics.
- First-Generation Scholars. Brandeis U in Massachusetts will be granting more scholarships for first-generation students next year, thanks to a $5 million grant from the Chase Manhattan Foundation.
- Alumni Matters. The Indiana University Alumni Association announced this month it will award $1,000 scholarships in 2001 to full-time undergraduate students on any IU campus who are children of alumni association members. For info see www.alumni.indiana .edu/programs/scholars.html
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ONLINE U.
What's in a Name? What do you call learning on the web? According to a study by the Masie Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, 40 percent of those who work in the field use "e-learning" to describe their activities. However 21 percent of students call it "computer-based training," and only 10 percent say it's "e-learning."
Others, such as legislators, use "distance learning," while some say "Web-based learning." Since the public is still becoming acquainted with the whole field, it may take a while for the terminology tug of war to play out. [back to top]
Congressional Changes? According to a new report, "The Power of the Internet for Learning," by the Congressional Web-Based Education Commission, Congress needs to liberalize its financial aid guidelines to promote more e-learning.
The commission, composed of members of Congress and education officials, called for allowing universities that have more than 50 percent of their classes on the Internet to become eligible for aid, if they are accredited; and to scrap the rule that requires students to take at least 12-hours a semester to qualify for aid. Both rules are in place to protect against fraud. To read the report, see www.webcommission.org.
West Point of the Web? Not exactly. But the United States Army is launching an online university of its own. The project, now called Army University Access Online, will bring courses from 29 universities and 10 companies to about 15,000 of its personnel at a time. The system is being coordinated by PricewaterhouseCoopers. [back to top]
Revolutionary Learning? George Washington won the American Revolutionary War at Yorktown in 1781, and now conservative educators are creating a for-profit, online university to study American values. Yorktownuniversity.com, based in Virginia, will offer classes such as "Virtue and Business," "Adam Smith and His World" and an "Entrepreneurial History of the U.S."
Regents College Says Good-bye. One of the pioneers in distance learning has changed its name. Regents College in Albany, New York, which has been educating students for 30 years as an arm of the New York State Board of Regents, has become independent and now will be known as Excelsior College. The name comes from Latin and means "ever upward."
Cyberschools. Cyberschools: An Education Renaissance by Glenn R. Jones, the founder and CEO of Jones International University is available from www.cyberschools.com. ISBN 1-885400-76-4,
price $14.95 [back to top]
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Who Has The Best Learning Experiences? Where are students really learning? The National Survey of Student Engagement (N.S.S.E. 2000) of students at 276 colleges and universities has some surprising answers. For example, only four small liberal arts colleges scored in the top 20 percent in all categories of the study: Beloit in Wisconsin, Centre in Kentucky, Elon in North Carolina and Sweet Briar in Virginia.
Sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the survey queried 63,000 first- and fourth-year college students on 40 topics to find out which schools are best at encouraging learning. Questions were grouped in five areas which can serve as "national benchmarks of effective educational practices." These include: level of academic challenge; amount of active and collaborative learning; student interaction with faculty; access to enriching learning experiences such as internships and study abroad; and campus support.
Which colleges provide the greatest academic challenge? Among freshmen who were surveyed, the strongest performers were: Liberal Arts Colleges; (alphabetically) Antioch, Centre, Denison and Wabash; among Doctoral-Extensive Universities; American, Indiana, Rice and the U. of Michigan. [back to top]
Athletes and the Academy. Graduation rates among athletes has been a major concern in recent years. But most folks assume the biggest problem is among the Division I universities that support the big football and basketball programs.
Wrong. A new study from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) found that fewer Division II athletes graduate than those from the larger schools. Among students who entered in 1993-94, only 49 percent of Division II athletes graduated in six years. However, athletes at Division I graduated at a rate of 51 percent. Of all students at Division II schools, only 43 percent graduate; while 56 percent of all Division I students graduate.
Some reasons for the disparity: Division I universities may have more tutors and academic resources to work with athletes who need help.
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Rating Canadian Universities. In its annual study, Maclean's magazine, based in Toronto, warned of some erosion of quality among several Canadian colleges. Recent cutbacks from the Canadian government have resulted in a decline in the number of tenured faculty, the size of endowments, the size of classes and library resources and other resources. All but the University of Quebec system were included in the rankings, which can be found at www.macleans.ca.
U. Michigan Wins. The latest chapter in the affirmative action court battles around the nation took place in Michigan at the end of 2000, when a U.S. District Judge ruled that the University of Michigan can use the race of a student as one consideration in the admissions process.
The judge, Patrick J. Duggan, said that there are clear educational benefits to having a diverse campus. The same judge had struck down the U.M.'s earlier affirmative action plan in 1998. Now, he said, the new policy is "narrowly tailored" to prevent illegal discrimination against white students.
The Michigan decision follows by a month two other decisions upholding affirmative action: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a decision (Hopwood) barring the use of race in admission to Texas public colleges. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit approved of the use of race in admission to the University of Washington.
Look for one or all of these cases to make their way to the U.S. Supreme Court for some kind of semi-final resolution. [back to top]
Counselor's Bookshelf. Readers who are mystified by the continuing increase in college costs might turn to Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much by Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Harvard University Press, 2000.
And "Preparing Your Child for College: A Resource Book for Parents" by the U.S. Department of Education is free of charge; see www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html [back to top]
COLLEGE BOUND's Editor: R. Craig Sautter, DePaul University; Associate Editors: Connie Amon, Jennifer C. Patterson; Assistant Editor: Larry Busking; Circulation: Irma Gonzalez-Hider; Illustration: Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford (NY) Central School District; Howard Greene, author, The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning Series; Terence Giffin, Choate-Rosemary Hall; Frank C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor; Virginia Vogel, Educational Guidance Services; M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis, Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).
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