Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness is not the solution, the American higher education system is broken, Senator Ben Sasse says
OMAHA, Nebraska — President Biden stated on Wednesday that certain student loan debt will be forgiven. This choice, according to its detractors, does not address the main cause of the problem: the high and growing expense of college and university.
Sen. Ben Sasse is among them. President Biden’s proposal “simply baptized the most damaged portions of higher education,” he said on Thursday.
“Fundamentally, our American higher education system is broken. It’s not serving nearly enough people, and those who do attend, well enough. It’s never been more important to have a functioning dynamic higher ed system, but we need to recognize most people are not going to go four years continuous, in residence full time, while not working from 18 to 22, and then be done forever. The economy is being disrupted,” Sasse said.
We investigated the tuition and fee costs at UNL. During the 2007-2008 academic year, tuition and fees for an in-state, on-campus resident were $6,216. In 2021-2022, it amounted to $9,872. That’s an increase of 58.8% in 15 years.
Senator believes we must consider alternative solutions. He proposes additional micro-credentials, stackable credentials, rigor, and “clarity about what higher education evaluation looks like.”
Sasse served around four years as president of Midland University. When asked by 3 News Now, based on his experience in higher education, why he believes higher education costs continue to rise, he responded, “There are a bunch of accreditation cartels right now that make it really difficult for any new entrance to get into higher education and compete, and put pressure on the exit system, which doesn’t work very well.”
EducationQuest, a non-profit organization that assists students in locating college financing, recommends that families and students begin looking for scholarships and financial assistance as early as their freshman and sophomore years of high school to balance the growing expense of education. They advise submitting the FASFA as soon as it becomes accessible.
