President Joe Biden talks about student debt in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024. Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked pieces of the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan on June 24, 2024, in rulings that will have implications for millions of federal borrowers.
It is a dynamic I have seen up close and personally: Some students coming through the upskilling programs I have run for eight years struggle to connect their consumption of educational services with an obligation to actually pay for them. Student loans aren’t looked upon as an educational funding tool, but rather as a blank check that students can use to
The messaging is dire for taxpayers and those who paid their loans: Borrow whatever you would like, and the government and taxpayers will pick up the tab. This algorithm shouldn’t just be for students, either. Colleges and universities that are charging egregious tuition fees and costs should face the same music. Requiring greater transparency from higher education institutions would not only give students a better understanding of what they’re paying for, but would also push the schools to delineate funds to educational services that have the highest impact for the students — services that prepare them for the 21st century workforce.