We wouldn’t buy a car without knowing how it drives. Most of us wouldn’t even buy a toaster without reading the reviews first. So, why do we allow our children to take on thousands of dollars in student loan debt without knowing the value of the degree they plan to earn?
High school students have a major financial decision to make, and they typically start thinking about it around their sophomore year. Many of them have never even opened a credit card in their own name — some cannot even drive a car alone yet. Even so, we expect them to shop around for a diploma that may be more expensive than their first house and to understand the financial risks that come with it.
No wonder Missouri students are running into money trouble. More than 1 in 10 Missourians have student loans, totaling $28.4 billion in debt. The average individual loan debt breaks down to $35,400, enough to put a down payment on a decent place to live.
Part of this is our own fault as a society — we’ve positioned higher education as the only understood and celebrated pathway to a good-paying job. We turned college into a box that young and uninformed high school students feel pressured to check at the expense of their financial futures.
As a former college instructor and dean of students, I’ve met countless young students who felt pressure to take on loads of personal debt and attend college, despite having no idea what they wanted to major in or do for a living. We have completely forgotten the purpose of the degree in the first place. For the sake of our youngest generation, we need to get back to the basics.
A four-year college degree is a pathway to some good-paying jobs, but not all good-paying jobs. It is an investment, not an obligation. Trade schools and apprenticeships open doors to many meaningful and lucrative careers that are in high demand right now and do not require taking on mountains of debt.
It’s our job as parents, guidance counselors, and teachers to educate our high school students on all of these options, not just college. And if students decide to invest in a college degree, they should have a right to know the potential risks and returns of their investment. Like any other consumer, they should know what they are going to get for their money.
My latest bill, the HB 355 Students’ Right to Know Act, does exactly this. It would require our state colleges and universities to publish data on the performance of each school, including average graduation rates, graduate income, student debt levels, and more. The information could be easily accessed online and would empower students to make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and their futures.
Being able to compare outcomes between schools would also provide commonsense market incentives that would make our higher education systems more competitive and efficient. Right now, tuition prices do not reflect value. When colleges are held accountable for their returns on student investments, their performances will improve over time. And if not, their tuition prices will lower because their degrees will have been proven objectively less valuable.
Additionally, my bill would give students access to job market data provided by the state, to learn more about what jobs are in-demand in Missouri, and their income potential over time. It will also give them a much better idea of their potential student debt burden, should they choose to attend college.
We live in the Show-Me State, yet we don’t give our teenagers any practical information that will help them make a decision on the biggest purchase of their lives. It’s time for our public universities to open their books and show us what their students are getting for their money. They have a right to know.
Ben Baker is a Republican state representative who represents HD 160 in Newton County.
