If you think college tuition is expensive now, wait until all the plans the government has to “help” start to kick in.
Houghton College has a better idea. So much confidence does the New York-based school have in its degree that it is now promising to help students pay off their college loans if they don’t come out with a job earning at least $38,000 a year.
Houghton grads who earn less than that will have the school help them pay off part of their loans. In addition, the college will reimburse 100 percent of student-loan payments if a graduate earns $20,000 or less — until either the salary increases or the loan is paid in full.
Ryan Spear, associate director of admission operations for Houghton, puts it this way: “This loan repayment says now you can graduate with the fear of ‘what am I going to do?’ It relieves that stress and that pressure.”
How refreshing to see a school willing to bet on its students’ success by throwing its own purse onto the pile.
We all know the problem of students graduating from college with big debts and no jobs. For years Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, has noted that the government’s attempt to make college more affordable by subsidizing ever more loans has only fueled tuition inflation — making it even more expensive. Adding to the injustice here is that the schools get their loan money whether or not the students graduate or find jobs.
In other words, colleges and universities have no skin in the game if their students fail. That’s led to suggestions for real reforms, such as holding schools accountable for some percentage of a student’s loans if he or she defaults.
If our colleges and universities had to pick up some of the tab for failure, they would probably be more discriminating in whom they admitted in the first place.
As sensible as these kind of reforms are, we’re even more heartened that Houghton took this move without government. The most creative solutions will always be the ones done voluntarily.
By backing up its degree with a reasonable earnings figure, this small Christian college has done more to reassure students and parents than some of our bigger-name universities.
Here’s hoping Houghton’s move encourages others to offer their own solutions.