Student debt is a major social issue. Recently Portland State University just approved a 9% tuition increase (Theen, 2017). With a 4-year public college like Portland State University raising their tuition, I began to wonder why has tuition in the United States increased so much in the last couple of years? Also, how is the rise of tuition making students fall into more and more debt.
In 2006, Lewis and Clark’s tuition cost about $28,000 a year. Within 10 years, the cost of attending Lewis and Clark has increased to about $47,000, not including costs of books, room and board. Lewis and Clark’s tuition is also projected to increase to about $52,000 in 2020 (College Factual, 2017). In 2010, Portland State University’s out of state tuition used to cost about $21,000 a year. Fast forward to 2016 and the tuition now stands at $24,000, once again not counting room and board. By 2020 the tuition at Portland State University is projected to increase over $25,000 a year.
As tuition continues to increase, it becomes more difficult for families to support their children attending a 4-year college. The rising cost of college presents less opportunity for many individuals of marginalized groups who are trying to attend college. It also creates further inequities and displacements in socioeconomic status. According to the Huffington post, the average college tuition has dramatically increased 1,120% in the last 30 years across the United States. In the United States, there are roughly 44.2 million Americans who are dealing with debt from student loans to attend college. With the rise of costs and fees to attend higher education, it has become more difficult for students to attend higher education institutions because of how expensive it has become. If students are not offered a decent financial aid package or they do not receive a scholarship for academics or athletics, then students will most likely have to take out student loans. 
According to Student Loan Hero (2017), the average monthly student loan payment is $351. The quicker we raise college tuition without a sustainable financial plan for colleges and government aid to help students make up the difference in what they can afford and what college costs, there continues to be inequities for individuals to advance their social and economic classes. For example, if a family makes $30,000 a year and the cost of going to college for a single year is double that, then the debt is essentially putting them at a lower economic status then from where they began. Students are still attending college to secure a better paying job for the future. As they are doing this they are climbing into a hole of debt from student loans that is going to take them many years to climb out of. The gap is still so large that even with a well-paying job right out of college it will be extremely difficult to pay off all their debt and move up in the economic ladder.
For particular students part of marginalized groups in society, there is a barrier for them to advance because they are starting from a place of economic disadvantage and the more debt they go into the less their chance continues to become to use that college diploma for economic growth. Rising costs are an issue insofar as it impacts many students ability to access higher education and the less educated populace is a social concern.
Work Cited:
-Theen, %. (2017). Portland State trustees approve 9 percent tuition increase for in-state students. Portland , OR: The Oregonian.
-Student Loan Hero. (2017). A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017. Student Loan Hero .
-Bloomberg. (2012). Cost Of College Degree In U.S. Has Increased 1,120 Percent In 30 Years. The Huffington Post .
-College Factual . (2017). Compare Lewis & Clark College Tuition & Fees. College Factual .
-College Factual . (2017). Portland State University Tuition & Fees Plus Price Increases. College factual .
This is a really interesting post! This information shows the continuance of stratification in the United States between different racial groups and different socio-economic groups. I would be interested on how the financial aid office would feel how to address this problem at the level of Lewis & Clark.
ReplyDeleteLast year I volunteered in a sixth grade math class in a poor area in North Dallas. The school's feeder pattern high school had a graduation rate of 62% with a much lower rate going on to attend college. In 6th grade, an entire math unit was dedicated on how to afford college, talking about work study, grants, loans, financial aid. Math problems were created out of it. Additionally, every Thursday teachers were expected to wear a college t-shirt and banners of colleges hung in the hallway. Because of the insane cost of college, many of the students would not be able to afford it. Also, the burden of finances were put on them since college was not a priority for many of the students families. I had a couple students inform me that their parents discouraged them from attending college because of the financial burden. When I was in 6th grade, college was barely on my mind. We never learned about ways to pay for it. My school also had a 95% graduation rate with most going on to attend college. The area I lived in was relatively well-off and therefore the school didn't feel the need to push means of paying so early on. In my community, the financial worries for higher education were primarily the worries of the parents.
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