College debt without much to show for it
I hope that in 2016 students will have less debt after college.
I am an adjunct at a local state college in the math department. Last term I started with 50 students in two classes. By the end of the course, five had withdrawn on their own at a loss of $300+ each for the course. (Two withdrew for personal reasons, and the other three just disappeared.) Five basically stopped coming and ended up with an “FX” which means an “F” because of non-attendance. Six others earned a D or F (which are not passing grades) and will have to take another math course. Most of the D grades were due to intermittent attendance and a lack of study skills.
This means that 16 students each paid $300+ for a course that they did not complete successfully for a total of more than $4,800. This money was either earned, borrowed or given to them, and poof, it will need to be repaid in most cases. This is just one course in one term. This is how the loans balloon and how students get in debt.
Some of the students may not have been prepared for this course. The state decided that students are not required to take placement tests in math and reading anymore. This leads to some students entering courses that they cannot pass. Other students are working, have families or take too many classes.
If students come to class, study at home and take advantage of the support services at the local schools, most can and do succeed. Others will end up with debt and little education.
Beth Lazerick, Boca Raton