With the increase in tuition at The University of Memphis this year, many students have voiced complaints about the loan holes they are digging in the attempt to reach higher learning.
“I have about $10,000 in loans from school,” said Deanna Richards, senior broadcast news major. “It’s way too much. I’ll be paying these loans off until I’m 35.”
Students at The U of M are not alone with their complaints, however. A national report on education released last week puts Tennessee in low standing in many categories, including affordability.
Measuring Up 2002 is a state-by-state report card of higher education released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education in San Jose, Calif., that Tennessee far from aced.
“The study was put together mainly to help state leaders assess their performance in higher education,” said Mikyung Ryu, policy analyst for the center. “States can compare themselves with other states and learn from better programs elsewhere and see where improvement is needed.”
The study is constructed with data from federal agencies like the Department of Education, the Census Bureau and private institutions like the College Board and ACT. This year’s study examines data from 2000, the last year information was available. In the 2000 release, the study examined data from 1998, the first year the study was done.
Categories the study examines include preparation, participation, affordability and completion.
Looking at each aspect of higher education allows state legislators to use the information as a framework for improvement, Ryu said.
As would be expected with the budget crisis the state experienced this summer, in the category of affordability, Tennessee’s grade decreased from a C in 2000 to a D- this year.
The share of family income that families and students pay to two- and four- year institutions remained high, although the share of income paid to four-year institutions has decreased some.
In affordability, Tennessee had the lowest grade of the tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Although Tennessee had the highest percentage of the three states in the percentage of families’ ability to pay community colleges, four-year private and public schools, the amount students borrow in Tennessee is larger than that of the other two states. Tennessee students borrow $3,209 on average, while Arkansas students borrow $3,055 and Mississippi students borrow $2,858.
In the category of preparation, Tennessee’s grade decreased from a C- in 2000 to a D- this year. The category measures the number of high school students’ taking upper-level and Advanced Placement courses and how they score on Advanced Placement tests.
Although the number of students taking these classes increased from the 2000 study and Tennessee showed a higher percentage of proficient high school students in categories including math, reading, science and writing, the other states improved more in the category. In turn, Tennessee’s grade dropped because states are graded on how they perform in comparison to other states.
Tennessee had the lowest score in the tri-state area in preparation, with Arkansas scoring a D+ and Mississippi scoring a D.
In participation, Tennessee’s grade increased from a D- in 2000 to a D+ in 2002. This category measures the percent of citizens enrolled in college.
The percent of high school students who attend college directly after graduating high school has dropped since 2000, but, according to the study, the number of young adults ages 18-24 enrolled in college-level education has increased, as has the number of working-age adults (25 to 49).
Tennessee had fewer high school students who go directly to college after graduation and fewer young adults enrolled in college than both Arkansas and Mississippi.
Tennessee showed an improvement from a C to a C+ in completion, which measures the number of returning freshmen and the number of first-time full-time students who earn a bachelor’s degree within five years of graduating from high school.
Mississippi had the highest percentage of students returning to both two- and four- year institutions in the tri-state area, but Tennessee led the area in the number of bachelor’s degrees completed in five and six years.
