Making Education Affordable Trends in Higher Education in 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 1:00 AM | Leave Comment
For many Americans, earning a higher education degree is a crowning achievement and the gateway to the rest of their life. Other than purchasing a new home, a college degree is the biggest investment a person can make.
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What’s At Stake?
Higher education creates a sense of stability for a person in the job market. Degree holders typically earn more income and are less likely to face unemployment.
However, the cost of tuition has tripled in the past thirty years. Due to economic hardships, many look at furthering their education, see the task as simply impossible.
More than ever, students are relying on student loans to fund their college education. Studies show that nearly seventy-one percent of all bachelor students graduate with some debt.
While some students are able to pay their debt off, most become burdened by it. With trends suggesting that college enrollment has slowed down and will continue to do so, many wonder how colleges are trying to appeal to prospective students.
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A Shared Responsibility
Historically speaking, the cost of college tuition has been shared by numerous stakeholders such as state and federal government, employers, parents, and of course, the student.
However, due to rising tuition costs, many of the backers simply stopped funds. Due to the debt-financing of a college degree, the cost has shifted to the student.
With states paying to colleges, a new trend in reducing the cost of college has emerged. This trend readjusts both state and federal policies, providing more of an incentive to invest into these important higher education programs.
Encouragement is necessary to encourage states to stay involved in the maintaining of their financial commitment to the affordability of higher education.
Organizations such as Altus Advisory Partners at altusap.com serve as a consultant to many colleges and works not only to identify problems here, but to solve them.
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Presidential Action
Due to the extreme importance of this situation, President Obama has declared to redefine college tuition so that America will once again have the highest number of college graduates worldwide.
On June 9, 2014 President Obama signed a memorandum concerning higher education cost. In this Presidential Memorandum, he proposed that we take action, lifting the burden created by student loan debt.
This memorandum will allow five million borrowers with student loans the opportunity to control their monthly payments, basing it on ten percent of their income.
An estimated twenty five million Americans with student loan debt would be able to refinance their student loans, receiving lower interest rates.
This could save borrowers upwards of thousands of dollars. After twenty years of payments, the remaining balance is forgiven.
The rising cost of education in the United States has long been a concern, not just for students and educators, but for the future job force as well.
There is a lot at stake for getting a higher education and the actions being taken now by the government and grassroots organizations are what will lead us to a better future.
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