Coloradans Might Have to Borrow More Student Loans if Budget Cuts Continue
Colorado students are picking up a larger proportion of college costs than ever before and may have to borrow even more student loans to pay for college if state lawmakers approve yet another round of budget cuts for higher education.
The poor economy and sharply increasing college tuition costs have combined to create a challenging situation for the state’s college students. A decade ago, the state picked up more than two-thirds of the tab for public college courses. Today, students pay two-thirds of the bill while the state pays one-third. Some state officials fear that if college costs continue to rise while the state’s higher education budget continues to suffer cuts, the state’s share may eventually become zero.
“That’s clearly where we’re going,” Lt. Governor Joe Garcia said. “If things don’t change at all, it could be a matter of a few years.”
If that happens, warn some officials, Colorado college students, who are already facing a challenging situation, could find themselves up against some very serious odds.
The average tuition for in-state students at a four-year public university in Colorado has nearly tripled in the past decade, from $3,128 to $8,370. And while the state’s colleges and universities enroll more students than ever before, those students are in record debt from college loans. More than 250,000 students are taking on new student loans every year, an increase of almost 50 percent from just five years ago, while also posting an 11.5 percent default rate on student loans, the second highest rate in the country.
Isaiah McGregory, the student body president at Colorado State University Pueblo, said that it’s no longer enough to simply get into college and then figure out what you want to do after graduation. In order to avoid crushing student loan debt, students “need to make sure they have a business plan to make sure that they get through school fast,” McGregory said (“Colo. Students Shoulder Bigger Share of Public College Cost,” KUSA-TV, Dec. 19, 2011).
Garcia said the whole situation, including the possibility of higher taxes to shore up the state’s education budget, looks bad to businesses considering setting up shop in Colorado. “Sooner or later people are going to have to decide whether education is worth an investment,” Garcia said. “If it’s worth an investment, they’re going to have to make that investment through perhaps higher taxes.”
But Republicans say that higher taxes are unlikely and point to November’s election, when two-thirds of voters shot down Proposition 103, which would have raised taxes for education.
