By Richard Long
What if instead of giving a block federal money to some students, the entire tuition of any student who wanted to go to a public college was paid for?
Here’s a news flash for you that’s neither news nor flash: The majority of college graduates are coming out of school with student loan debt. Today, nearly 70 percent of college graduates come out of school saddled with an average debt of $29,400. Check out this map to see student debt numbers in your state (except North Dakota and Hawaii).
Here’s a news flash you probably didn’t know: It would cost less for the government to make all public universities tuition-free than what the government already spends in higher education.
True story.
That’s one reason why as of midday Friday close to 30,000 people had already signed a petition launched by Jeff Bryant, the editor of the Education Opportunity Network website and newsletter, calling for President Obama and Congress to “create a plan to make public college tuition-free.”
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