PUHI — Debt-free college “would be a good thing, but it’s hard to wrap my mind about that,” said Ariel Bunao. The 22-year-old of Kapaa is taking classes at Kauai Community College and pursuing an online bachelor’s degree from University
PUHI — Debt-free college “would be a good thing, but it’s hard to wrap my mind about that,” said Ariel Bunao.
The 22-year-old of Kapaa is taking classes at Kauai Community College and pursuing an online bachelor’s degree from University of Hawaii.
“It seems impossible, but if that option were available that would open a lot of doors for people who can’t afford to go to college,” she said.
Lawmakers are calling for a conversation about rising college debt levels in the United States, and students from Kauai Community College weighed in on the idea.
Last week, Democrats announced their goal to make debt-free college a priority in the 2016 election. Their plan is to introduce resolutions in 10 states, including Hawaii, and to use the topic in election campaigns.
Samantha Hawkins-Tabian works in KCC’s financial aid department. The 21-year-old from Anahola is taking classes at KCC and working toward attending UH Manoa for her bachelor’s degree.
“I can see it happening, maybe for a two-year college student, but for a full journey — associate’s degree and then bachelor’s degree and all that — I don’t think so,” she said.
Talk on the Hill
The Democratic push toward debt-free college is being organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and it has a three-pronged approach that focuses on more federal aid to states, more financial aid to students, and finding creative ways to cut costs.
Kayla Wingbermuehle, who is directing the campaign, told The Associated Press that all three major Democratic presidential candidates support the campaign and that “the progressive strategy is now to go deep, unifying the Democratic Party around debt-free college and ensuring that there’s an undeniable mandate in November of 2016.”
Bernie Sanders, for example, has outlined a six-step plan to make college debt-free. In his plan, he points to a highly competitive global economy, a place where the top dog has the best-educated workforce in the world.
He pledges to “fight to make sure that every American who studies hard in school can go to college without going deeply into debt” in order to keep the United States as a contender in the world economy.
Republicans have also begun to generate ideas about how to reduce college debt. Ohio Gov. John Kasich convened a task force earlier this year on college affordability. They came up with the ideas of passing off dorm and cafeteria operations to private parties and providing more digital study materials.
State Representative Kaniela Ing, D-South Maui, plans to introduce a resolution in support of the federal initiative, along with a bill to achieve similar goals at the state level during the upcoming legislative session. Lawmakers from nine other states announced that they will be doing the same in their respective legislative bodies.
“Higher education should propel young people forward, not set them further back,” Ing said. “Our system’s disincentives for education are completely backwards. It’s past time for America to join many other industrial nations, who see education as a right, and implement debt-free college.”
Potential costs on Kauai
For a student who qualifies for the maximum amount of loans at KCC, it’s possible to leave the college with more than $20,000 in debt — and that’s just for tuition.
The best way to whittle down that potential debt is to apply for federal financial aid and scholarships.
For example, Hawkins-Tabian said she’s classified as an independent student and fills enough of the requirements to receive the full amount of the Pell Grant.
“It also covers my books, because I get extra refunded money that comes with it,” Hawkins-Tabian said. “I haven’t had to pay for college in the eight semesters that I’ve been coming. Students like that won’t rack up any kind of debt.”
As a recent University of Hawaii graduate, Rep. Ing has acquired over $45,000 of student debt through his undergraduate and graduate studies.
“I would not have been able to graduate college if I had not worked part time, aggressively solicited scholarships, and obtained Pell Grants. Neither of my parents graduated from college, so I viewed higher education as a ticket to the middle class,” Ing said.
One idea being floated to reduce college costs is to make tuition free at public colleges and universities. Right now, KCC charges $120 per credit for residents and $328 per credit for non-residents.
“How would we pay for teachers?” Hawkins-Tabian asked. “I know that a lot of the portion of what we pay for tuition goes to paying our teachers to teach us.”
The answer to that question comes in the form of another idea from Capitol Hill: Charge Wall Street speculators a fraction of a percent tax on speculation.
Looking for realistic solutions
Hawkins-Tabian and Bunao searched through a breakdown list of student costs at KCC and came to the conclusion that cutting out KCC’s tuition would have the biggest impact on students, but it’s not realistic.
Their suggestion is to start small in cutting college costs and work toward the goal of debt-free college.
“On a reality note, to actually see something get cut, that’d probably be the activity and bus fees and everything,” Hawkins-Tabian said. “Here, that’s $54 (for each student), but at Manoa, it’s $800 for an activity fee and a lot of students don’t even participate in the activities.”
Bunao said going after book costs on top of extra fees would also have a real impact on students.
“That seams more realistic than going for the tuition,” Bunao said. “I mean, that would be a start.”
The pair also suggested offering a few free classes per semester for every student and working up to waiving the full tuition.
“We should start small and see how that affects students,” Hawkins-Tabian said. “See where everything falls and then see if we can cut more out and hopefully get to where we’re debt-free.”
