NJ Students taking hits from all sides

by: Jason Springer

Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 02:19:22 PM EDT

If you're a college student in NJ, you just can't catch a break these days. Today's news concerns interest rates on loans:

According to figures released Thursday, N.J. Class loans will be available for 7.62 percent, up from 5.9 percent last year. Still, state officials said they were pleased with the new rate, given the turmoil in the financial markets, the paper said.

This news comes on top of recent tuition hikes:

Two of the biggest public universities in New Jersey -- Rowan and Rutgers -- this month approved overall tuition and fee increases of about 8 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, for the 2008-09 year. The average increase in tuition and fees at public universities in the United States last year was 6.6 percent, according to the College Board.

That's just a sampling of the tuition increases facing students at NJ colleges as they head back to school this fall. Other Colleges are passing the increases off on their students as well:

Students at the Hudson County Community College will be hit with an 8.1 percent tuition hike in the fall, while New Jersey City University students will confront a 7 percent hike, officials said.

Another factor contributing to the problem are the state budget issues which lead to cuts in state aid:

This fiscal year, state aid to New Jersey colleges and universities was cut about 10 percent and contributed to an overall 7.5 percent increase in tuition. State aid support has been inadequate for years, and higher education officials contend this makes it difficult for the state to expand and take in more state students.

The Star Ledger ran an Op-Ed calling for the State to seek innovative ways of reducing education higher costs giving us this troubling statistic:

Over the past 15 years, tuition at public colleges and universities in New Jersey has outpaced the rate of inflation as well as the growth in median family income. Given the dismal conditions of the state and national economies, higher education is unlikely to receive significant funding increases to prevent additional tuition increases.

Not being able to afford or receive an education will only hurt the economy further, but I don't see a reversal in this trend on the horizon. Thurman Hart even talked recently about education being key to energy policy. None of these issues exist in a vacuum and while I don't know what the breaking point is, if we keep going in this direction we may find out.

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