NEA's Degrees Not Debt goals
- Increase need-based federal aid, like Pell Grants.
- Allow borrowers to refinance their loan interest rates in the same way that homeowners can refinance their mortgages.
- Expand loan forgiveness programs, especially for people working in public service careers like education.
Source: nea.org
At Ball State, 72 percent of students in the class of 2012 graduated with debt, according to projectonstudentdebt.org.
In response to rising student debt, the National Education Association, a union for educators, has made this week their week of action surrounding their Degrees Not Debt campaign, which aims to support decreases in student loan interest rates and connect students with repayment resources.
As a part of the program, Bianka Teeters, president of the Indiana Student Education Association, made her own Degrees Not Debt event Wednesday in the lobby of Teachers College.
“My main goal is to get awareness out of the different options for loan repayments and to make sure that students know,” Teeters said. “Some students aren’t entering any field – not just education – because of high interest rates and such high loans you have to take out to pay for college.”
Teeters said since education majors don’t make a lot of money, many times they have more in loans than they’ll make their first year teaching.
“Obviously teachers don’t go into it for the money, but it’s hard when you have that much in loans and you’re making so little,” she said.
Myranda Tetzlaff is a sophomore English education major. She said she currently has $10,000 in debt, and that number won’t be getting any higher because of scholarships she has received.
Even with her debt, Tetzlaff said she isn’t worried about paying it off.
“I know it’s a lot of money, but if I live cheap the first couple of years out of college, then I shouldn’t be too worried,” she said. “I personally think that paying off debt is possible because of financial planning, regardless of career path.”
She said even though first-year teachers have a low salary – the average starting salary for a teacher in Indiana in 2012-2013 was $34,696, according to the National Education Association – she isn’t that concerned.
“It’s definitely worth it,” Tetzlaff said. “Sometimes I question if I’m doing the right thing. Sometimes I wonder, ‘Should I have been in journalism? What about music management?’ But then every time I walk into an education class at Ball State, I feel more prepared and so excited for my chosen career path that all of my doubt disappears.”
The average student debt in Indiana is $27,886, according to projectonstudentdebt.org. Sixty-four percent of students have debt, which puts Indiana at 13 th in the U.S. for amount of students with debt.
Although some students are going into fields that make more money, they are still concerned about their student debt.
Jeff Newton, a junior finance major, said he has $15,750 in student debt.
“I think I’ll make enough money to pay it off, but I don’t like that it’s there,” Newton said.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers ranked finance as one of the top-paying majors for new college graduates, making $57,300 for an average starting salary, according to Forbes.
Other students, like senior pre-dental major Benjamin Pearson, don’t have any undergraduate debt, but will be collecting a lot when they go to graduate school.
He said his loans for dental school will add up to about $250,000 by the time he graduates.
“It’s just so much money,” Pearson said.
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