Finally, Someone is Taking Action!
Last month a bombshell article was dropped in the Chronicle of Higher Education. At her investiture, Dr. Kristina M. Johnson, the new President of Ohio State University, shared a plan to reduce student borrowing from 47% of all students attending OSU down to ZERO in the next decade.
This is known as a BHAG, or a big, hairy, audacious goal, and I am elated. Finally, someone in higher education, at a top-notch land-grant institution, is looking for a different path. Why is this so critical? Some 67% of all students earn their degrees from public universities. These schools should have led the way in finding alternatives to federal student loan financial slavery. Now, Ohio State University is going to try. Here are some pros and cons I garnered from the article.
PROS-
Her plan is to substitute grants, internships, paid research opportunities, and work-study options for the traditional federal loan program.
Unlike other progrrams, her plan is not limited to low-income families. This will be available across the full financial spectrum of students who are admitted. Basically, if you want this, you will apply to participate.
During the “pilot” phase, students will commit to graduating in four years and taking courses in financial literacy.
Let’s be clear; it is not “free college”. Each student must still contribute the funds their FAFSA says is their Expected Family Contribution. So, there will be students who need to borrow for the EFC portion of their total cost to attend OSU. Her plan pickx up AFTER the EFC portion. If your EFC is low, that’s great news. if not, it won’t feel as good.
CONS
. Sadly, they will only have 125 students in their pilot program next fall. Really? This speaks to the snails pace approach they are taking. They want to take 10 years to study it and figure it out. Friends, we made it to the moon in less time than this plan will take to develop. Speed it up. Make mistakes. Regroup. Don’t study it to death.
They admit to needing to raise close to 1 Billion to fund this program. That’s a LOT of money from donors, businesses, and other benefactors. And the article was opaque about why that particular figure, how it was determined, and what it represents. And that makes me nervous.
I actually wonder if that 1 Billion will be enough. My city experienced just such a magical illusion about 5 years ago. The county I live in brought in a “national program” to help pay last needs dollars to every graduating high school student who was attending college. We graduate 5,000 students per year, AND maybe 3,000 attend some form of higher education. Last needs were the $1-3000 needed to close the costs each year.They said $3 million was enough… ha. The first year they offered the plan, they needed 12+million. If each student needed it all 4 years, the cost would have been near $50 million for one class! Local businesses could not raise this yearly, so the program was forced into an income-based needs program. Gotta wonder if that 1 Billion is needed EVERY YEAR in a University that has over 66,000 students currently enrolled. By my calculations, that 1 Billion would cover the balance after the EFC for just 4 years for all 66,000 OSU students. See what I mean?
Like most flagship institutions, Ohio State has a larger share of motivated, high-achieving students attending. Even with their better than average 59% graduation rate after four years, they still have a long way to go. President Johnson must tackle the causes of 5 & 6-year graduation situations, academic preparedness of incoming students, and critically review the academic offerings of this well-regarded University. This will help, too.
A final thought to the incoming President- it doesn’t appear you are reinventing the wheel at all. Some 50 years ago we had work-study available. Certain schools even require campus work from ALL students attending (i.e. Warren Wilson College near Asheville, NC.) I hope your task force scours the country for the best practices that you can scale and offer NOW. In the meantime, every year that goes by is another year of borrowing debt for tens of thousands of YOUR students. Don’t wait for the perfect process. Try something, and if it fails, fix it and move on. it’s called Failing Forward.
Anything this audacious will not go smoothly, but everyone should still cheer them on. At least someone is trying something different. That makes her a leader in my book.
Next YEAR is almost here. What are your resolutions for you and your college student? Check out some important ones for your student and you!
Until Next Time,
All My Best,
Bonnie Burkett
