States Turning Tuition World Upside Down

Recently, Oregon was the first state to propose a "Pay it Forward" college tuition plan. While many questions remain on whether the dramatic proposal is valid, that isn't stopping a legislative leader from another part of the country from recommending further study of the concept. NJ.com reports:

Under the plan, New Jersey public colleges could waive tuition and fees for students who pledge to give the state a portion of their salaries after graduation.

In theory, the idea would reduce the amount of loans students take out to go to college.

"When kids are getting out of college, they’re buried in debt," Sweeney said. "It gives another pathway to higher education. As someone who didn’t go to college and recognizes how fortunate I am that things worked out for me, you don’t want to leave things up to luck."

New Jersey’s public colleges have some of the highest tuitions in the nation. For example, the average in-state Rutgers University undergraduate will pay $13,499 in tuition and fees for the 2013-14 school year. Once room and board are added in, the total cost of attending Rutgers will be $25,077 for students living on campus.

New Jersey would not be the first state to explore the idea of delaying tuition payments.

On July 29, the governor of Oregon signed a bill to appoint a commission to study a "Pay it Forward" plan and recommend whether the state should institute a trial program.

Although details have not been finalized, proponents of Oregon’s plan have called for the state to waive tuition for students who agree to pay 3 percent of their incomes over 24 years.

Supporters say the program will help alleviate the nation’s growing student loan problem since many graduates leave college encumbered with tens of thousands of dollars of debt before they ever find their first job.

But critics say the "Pay it Forward" idea has too many holes.

While students would get free tuition and fees while they are in school, they will still have to take out loans to cover the cost of living on or off campus, buying books, paying for transportation and other costs that often account for more than half of the expense of attending college.

It is also unclear if asking students in Oregon to repay 3 percent of their income for a quarter century would cover the cost of running a college or if the schools would have enough cash to operate in the first few years of the program. Critics also questioned whether the state would be able to keep track of the incomes of students who move out of state or out of the country.

Leave a Reply