The Biden administration’s recent decision to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt has become a new hot topic in American politics. The move will drastically affect North Carolina, which has over 1.3 million borrowers holding an average of $37,721 of debt, the eighth highest value in the country. While it is evident the decision will help millions of students across the country, the policy fails to address the real issue: college in the United States is too expensive.
Once upon a time, attending a public university in America was not inherently affixed to tens of thousands of dollars of debt. In the last 20 years tuition and fees at public institutions have increased by 179.2%, a trend that has continued since the ‘70s.
So, how did prices get so high? The answer is not particularly straightforward. If you ask the universities charging the fees, they are quick to point the finger at a decline in state funding. The federal loan program has inflated well beyond responsible levels, with 48 million borrowers making up over $1.7 trillion of debt. Academic speculation debates whether increased federal subsidies result in higher tuition. Evidence also points to the loan program being incredibly unsuccessful in helping vulnerable borrowers and having cost the government billions of dollars.
There are several other factors that have in part contributed to the rise in tuition including but not limited to spending increases tied to boosting prestige, securing distinguished professors and more elaborate amenities. With the causes of rising tuition being wide and varied, the onus is on all parties involved to bring the cost down.
NC State offers relatively good tuition for a public university: $6,535 annually for in-state undergraduates as compared to the $9,349 national average. NC State also outperforms the nation with student debt. Only 39% of undergraduates at the school take on debt, in comparison to 55% of bachelor’s degree recipients for the entire country in 2020.
The University’s comparative success in student financials is emblematic of the entire University of North Carolina system, which sets the tuition rates for all its schools. The UNC system has several commendable policies in higher education affordability.
For the sixth year running, UNC schools will keep tuition rates the same for all its schools — an incredible notion in an age defined by yearly college tuition raises consistently outpacing inflation. This ties in with a commitment to a fixed tuition program, guaranteeing freshmen the same tuition price for eight consecutive semesters. The system has also implemented the NC Promise Tuition Plan, reducing tuition to $500 a semester for four UNC institutions.
The state of North Carolina boasts some of the best schools on the planet and one of the best collegiate financial institutions in the country; but the issue lies in the latter sentiment being in comparison to a national university system in flames. NC State and UNC clear an exceptionally low threshold for responsible prices. The debts that thousands of students are incurring are still obscene amounts that threaten to sink their entire futures before they can even begin.
Moreover, there are university systems that do more to make education affordable for all. University of California ensures lower-income students pay no tuition at all — almost 55% of its undergraduates — and the state just made community college tuition free. New York State Universities offer a similar program, but extends free tuition to the entire middle class.
The UNC system takes claim to the fulfillment of North Carolina’s constitutional mandate to provide “higher education … to the people of the State free of expense.” While we are well on our way, there is still a way to go before North Carolina can take the title of the affordable higher education state.
