CHATTANOOGAN: Alexander: Stop Telling Students They Can’t Afford College

Career College Central Summary:

Senator Lamar Alexander said that it is easier to pay for college than many think, noting that with federal grants, community college can be free for many students, and with state aid and federal loans, 4-year colleges can be affordable.
“The question before us is, can you afford to pay for college? I believe the answer for most Americans is, yes. For millions, two years of college is free. For most students, four years at a public university is affordable and these include some of the best colleges and universities in the world," Sen.
Alexander said. “It is never easy to pay for college, but it is easier than many think and it is unfair and untrue to make students think that they can’t afford college. The average debt of a graduate of a 4-year institution is about $27,000 – or about the same amount of the average new car loan.”
Sen. Alexander chaired the Senate education committee’s fourth hearing on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
He proposed 5 steps Congress could take to help reduce overborrowing for students who are taking out more money in federal loans than they can repay: stop discouraging colleges from counseling students about how much they should borrow; help students save money by completing their degree at a faster rate; make it simpler to repay loans; require colleges to share in the risk of lending to students; and have Congress evaluate its role in increasing college costs, whether through unfunded Medicaid mandates on states or through regulations on colleges and universities that waste college resources and increase their costs and tuition.
The senator’s prepared remarks follow:
The question before us is, can you afford to pay for college? I believe the answer for most Americans is, yes. And for millions, two years of college is free. It is never easy to pay for college, but it is easier than many think and it is unfair and untrue to make students think that they can’t afford college.
Four weeks ago, I spoke at the graduation of 800 students from Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee. Half those students are low-income. Their two years of college was free, or nearly free, because taxpayers provided them a Pell grant of up to $5,730 for low income students and the average community college tuition is about $3,300.
So, for the nearly four of ten undergraduate students in our country who attend two-year institutions, college is affordable.

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