• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Because of the increasing debt load associated with higher education, college graduates face difficulty pursuing low-paying public service careers, according to a new report released Thursday by the California Public Interest Research Group.

In “Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt’s Negative Impact on Public Service Career Opportunities,” CalPIRG examines data surrounding the issue of student debt as it pertains to college graduates entering two public service careers: teaching and social work.

“Teachers and social workers play an essential role in American society and are critical to the functioning of our communities,” said Justin Hotter, chair of the UCLA chapter of CalPIRG. “Because these jobs are so vital, it’s especially important that they are financially feasible options for graduates.”

Given increasing dependence on student loans, skilled and dedicated college graduates are deterred from taking or staying in these lower-paying jobs since compensation will not be sufficient to cover loan repayment and basic living expenses, Hotter said.

Student debt is defined as “unmanageable” when loan repayment constitutes more than 20 percent of pre-tax income.

CalPIRG reported that 17.9 percent of public college and 28.8 percent of private college graduates have unmanageable debt starting as teachers in California.

Nationally, 37 percent of public college graduates and 55 percent of private college graduates would have unmanageable debts starting as social workers.

In the next decade, 2 million new teachers will be needed in the U.S. because of increasing population, said CalPIRG Campus Organizer Jennifer Tung. If these positions are not filled, classroom sizes will go up, decreasing the quality of public education, she said.

Social workers will also be in greater demand as the elderly population increases, Tung said.

“Even though they pay less, these professions are socially valuable because they directly shape our children and our futures,” Tung said. “It’s important that graduates are able to become teachers because otherwise society is going to be significantly harmed in the long-term by a deterioration of education.”

Hotter said while the report only focused on two public service professions, many other socially valuable, lower-paying professions are similarly affected by increasing student debt, such as non-profit community work, journalism, the ministry or art.

The recent increase in student debt is a result of rising tuition costs coupled with a lack of corresponding increase in grants and federal loans, forcing students to turn to private loans to fund their education, Hotter said.

According to CalPIRG, Congress cut student loan programs by $12 billion in February, and the federal Pell grant has been stagnant at $4,050 a year for the past four years. In contrast, tuition costs have continued to soar, forcing students to take on more and more debt to pay for their degrees.

In order to address unmanageable student debt, the report proposed that need-based grant aid be increased, repayment be made fair and affordable, borrower protection policies be instated, and incentives to control tuition costs be established.

Congressman George Miller, D-Calif., the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, emphasized the need for Congress to make college more affordable.

“College students should graduate with limitless opportunities, not unlimited debt,” Miller said in a statement responding to the study. “Unfortunately, the administration and Congress continue to put college further out of reach for millions of students and families.”

Management of student debt needs to be addressed so students who want to go into essential public service careers are economically capable of doing so, said Tina Park, who sits on the Board of Directors for the United States Students Association.

“The federal government has a responsibility to ensure access to an affordable education regardless of the field students choose to enter,” Park said.