Affordable Higher Education News

SACRAMENTO—Almost 18% percent of all four-year public college graduates have too much debt to manage as a starting teacher in California according to a new report released today by CALPIRG Education Fund. CALPIRG Education Fund’s report, "Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt's Negative Impact On Public Service Career Opportunities", estimates the percentage of college graduates in California who would have unmanageable debt it they decided to become a teacher or a social worker.

“The government and schools should provide students with the opportunity to pursue their interests and apply their skills, even in fields that have low salaries, said Emily Rusch, CALPIRG Advocate. “Making students increasingly reliable on larger and larger student loans to pay for college stops some students from pursuing jobs in needed fields.”

CALPIRG Education Fund examined the student debt of recent college graduates compared with starting salaries for public service careers to determine the percentages of teachers and social workers with unmanageable debt in the state. ‘Unmanageable debt’ was calculated using an economic formula developed by two higher education economists to approximate the salary-to-debt thresholds at which individuals are only able to repay their loans with significant economic hardship.

CALPIRG Education Fund found that:

• In California 17.9% of public college and 28.8% of private college graduates would have unmanageable debt as starting teachers.
• Nationally, 37% of public and 55% of private college graduates would have unmanageable debt as starting social workers.

CALPIRG Education Fund released this report today as part of a nationwide effort to draw attention to the issue of undergraduate student loan debt. More than 20 state PIRGs released this report.

“Public sector careers such as teaching and social work are vital to the success of our communities,” said Anu Joshi, UCSA President and UC Berkeley social work graduate student. “Unfortunately, outrageous student fee increases and cuts to financial aid are resulting in high student loan debt preventing many students from embarking on these critical yet often low-paying careers.”

This report comes on the heels of the largest cut to student aid programs in history. In February, Congress passed a $12 billion cut to the student loan programs, mostly from students and parents. This legislation will ensure students begin paying a fixed 6.8% interest rate on their loans starting on July 1st, 2006.

“This report shows the risk of pushing the cost of college onto the backs of students and parents,” explained Rusch. “We need states and the federal government to strengthen their investment in higher education by increasing grant aid and making loans more affordable.”