By Meir Rinde
Making a college education out-of-reach financially encourages students to attend school elsewhere — and they rarely return
The high cost of college and the staggering burden of student loan debt have spurred a variety of funding initiatives and policy plans at the national and state levels, from lottery-funded merit scholarships to proposed major expansions of federal subsidies.
The high priority that middle-class voters put on higher education has been reflected in the presidential campaign, most notably in the promise by Sen. Bernie Sanders “to make public colleges and universities tuition-free” if he is elected, largely through higher state and federal spending. Hillary Clinton has proposed free tuition at community colleges and billions in education grants to states, while Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Chris Christie said they favored programs in which investors would pay students’ tuition in return for a portion of their future income.
The problem is felt acutely in New Jersey, where tuition and fees at four-year public colleges average $13,303 a year, the fourth-highest figure in the country, according to the State Higher Education Officers Association. The national average is $9,142. Two-year colleges are also more expensive here at an average of $4,600 a year, compared with $3,962 nationally.
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