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Rising costs make planning essential to pay for a degree

Michele Steinbacher msteinbacher@pantagraph.com | Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 12:00 am | Loading…

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Jason Wolter, left, Amanda Wilcox, center, and Lacey Weatherly look for their name in the program book while in line to graduate Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, at Redbird Arena in Normal. (The Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)

NORMAL - College affordability shouldn't scare off degree-seekers, even in the midst of an economic crisis. "You will still be able to go to college," said Jana Albrecht, Illinois State University's financial aid director. "The question becomes, 'Are you willing to do what you need to do to make that happen?" she said. | Students should think about financial aid early

The key is planning early - as early as grade school if a family is able - plus broadening a list of acceptable schools and exhaustively exploring aid options.

The National Center for Public Policy and Education's "Measuring Up: 2008," released a few weeks ago, handed Illinois - along with 48 other states -an "F" for college affordability. It doesn't mean fewer students are attending college, but it reflects a shift in the burden of college costs from the state to families.

At ISU, for example, the state provides only about 25 percent of the school's annual operating budget.

"(Affordable college) is still within reach today, at least as much as it has been in the last 10 years," said David Arnold, president of Eureka College.

The report's message, he said, really is intended as a wake-up call for government to re-evaluate its level of financial support to higher education.

"There's been a shift in societal thinking that a public education is not a public good, it's a private good," said ISU enrollment administrator Jonathan Rosenthal. But the report data goes against that, he said.

There is a return for the community, too. Degree-holders generally see $1 million more in lifetime earnings than those without college degrees, said Cheryl Schaffer, who leads financial aid at Heartland Community College.

That's money that returns to communities and the state's economy. But as institutions increase tuition, students take up the cost and graduates have more debt.

But local universities say they're working to keep the debt down for their students.

At Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, where the price tag comes to about $40,000 each year, financial aid averages about $24,000 per year per student. Most students take on less than $20,000 in debt over the course of their time at IWU, said Bob Murray, dean of enrollment management.

At Illinois State, where the annual price tag comes to about $18,000 - last year's average graduate walked away with about $17,000 debt, said Albrecht. Most students don't wait until graduation to start paying off all the college costs, she noted.

"Some people have saved money, others are working their way through college, and others have alternative sources such as bank loans," she said.

In the Measuring Up report, Illinois earned "B's" and "C's" in categories such as college preparation, higher education options, graduation rates, and the percentage of Illinoisans who hold degrees.

Nonprofit Progress Illinois notes the average annual cost to attend an Illinois community college (after financial aid) accounted for 24 percent of a family's income in 2008, up from 19 percent in 2000. In a four-year school, the cost was 35 percent of a family's income, from 16 percent eight years ago.

"I think there's going to be a migration from higher-cost institutions to lower-cost ones, and in many cases from four-year colleges to two-year colleges for the first semesters," Arnold said.

As the affordability issue simmers, "I'd encourage families to shop around and evaluate financial aid packages," said Schaffer.

It's too early to tell the recession's impact on people's decision to attend college, said ISU's Rosenthal. Data on that isn't expected until next fall.