Problem
Over the past few decades, a college education has become more accessible for many students through student loans. Naturally, as the number of students attending college has increased, so has the amount of student loans. Student loans, in and of themselves are not necessarily a problem, so long as indebted students are able to repay them. However, more American college graduates are finishing bachelor’s with excessive student debt for which they are struggling to repay. According to Mark Kantrowitz, “excessive” debt would be defined as “when the borrower’s debt‐service‐to‐income ratio is 10% or more under a standard 10‐year repayment plan.” It is estimated that approximately 70% of students take out loans to go to college – with the …show more content…
The National Commission on Adult Literacy concluded that adult education is “ill-equipped to meet 21st Century needs (Theis 2009).” Furthermore, although there are job openings, employers indicate that applicants do not possess the skills needed to successfully perform that job (JP Morgan Chase & Co. 2014). A workforce readiness program could be an alternative to college and a potential solution for those students who have dropped out of college and accumulated student loan debt. As previously mentioned, student loan debt is problematic to college dropouts because this group of students’ earning potential is lower. Thus, a workforce readiness program could expose students to an alternative that will train them in-demand skills that would increase their earning potential; thereby increasing students’ ability to manage their student loan debt. A workforce readiness program would involve the training and retraining of many adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy (Hilliard 2011). Furthermore, it is a less expensive alternative to people that will help them tackle their debt
Over the past few decades, a college education has become more accessible for many students through student loans. Naturally, as the number of students attending college has increased, so has the amount of student loans. Student loans, in and of themselves are not necessarily a problem, so long as indebted students are able to repay them. However, more American college graduates are finishing bachelor’s with excessive student debt for which they are struggling to repay. According to Mark Kantrowitz, “excessive” debt would be defined as “when the borrower’s debt‐service‐to‐income ratio is 10% or more under a standard 10‐year repayment plan.” It is estimated that approximately 70% of students take out loans to go to college – with the …show more content…
The National Commission on Adult Literacy concluded that adult education is “ill-equipped to meet 21st Century needs (Theis 2009).” Furthermore, although there are job openings, employers indicate that applicants do not possess the skills needed to successfully perform that job (JP Morgan Chase & Co. 2014). A workforce readiness program could be an alternative to college and a potential solution for those students who have dropped out of college and accumulated student loan debt. As previously mentioned, student loan debt is problematic to college dropouts because this group of students’ earning potential is lower. Thus, a workforce readiness program could expose students to an alternative that will train them in-demand skills that would increase their earning potential; thereby increasing students’ ability to manage their student loan debt. A workforce readiness program would involve the training and retraining of many adults to qualify for jobs in emerging and expanding sectors of the economy (Hilliard 2011). Furthermore, it is a less expensive alternative to people that will help them tackle their debt