Higher Education News

TRENTON—More than 29 percent of all four-year public college graduates have too much debt to manage as a starting teacher in New Jersey, according to a new report released today by NJPIRG. NJPIRG’s report, "Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt's Negative Impact On Public Service Career Opportunities", estimates the percentage of college graduates in New Jersey who would have unmanageable debt it they became a teacher or a social worker.

“This report shows the risk of pushing the cost of college onto the backs of students and parents,” said NJPIRG Student Debt Organizer Kristin Dobbs. “We need states and the federal government to strengthen their investment in higher education by increasing grant aid and making loans more affordable.”

NJPIRG examined the student debt of recent college graduates compared with starting salaries for public service careers to determine the percentages of teachers and social workers with unmanageable debt in the state. ‘Unmanageable debt’ was calculated using an economic formula developed by two higher education economists to approximate the salary-to-debt thresholds at which individuals are only able to repay their loans with significant economic hardship.

NJPIRG findings include:
• 29% of public college and 46.9% of private college graduates have unmanageable debt as starting teachers.
• Nationally, 37% of public and 55% of private college graduates would have unmanageable debt as starting social workers.

NJPIRG released this report today as part of a nationwide effort to draw attention to the issue of undergraduate student loan debt. More than 20 state PIRGs released this report.

“The government and schools should provide students with the opportunity to pursue their interests and apply their skills even in fields that have low salaries,” said TCNJ Sophomore Sara Tomzcuk. “Making students increasingly reliant on larger and larger student loans to pay for college stops some students from pursuing their dreams.”

Rutgers-Camden student Rebecca Gonzalez said that “I have major loan debt and I had to change my major to criminal justice so I could get a higher paying job in the private sector. The debt burden is a strain for me personally, as well as my classmates. At Rutgers Camden, the average student graduates with $16,203 in debt. With this amount of debt, we risk our future by limiting the young people who can give back to our communities.”

This report comes on the heels of the largest cut to student aid programs in history. In February, Congress passed a $12 billion cut to the student loan programs, mostly from students and parents. This legislation will ensure students begin paying a fixed 6.8% interest rate on their loans starting on July 1st, 2006.

“Public servants like teachers and social workers are vital to the success of our communities,” said Crystal Coache from Douglass College. “Unfortunately, high student loan debt can prevent many students from embarking on these critical yet low-paying careers.”