Iowa was recently reminded that our tough economic times continue.

Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa, announced that to help solve its budget issues, it is going to ask students to pay more. It is going to ask students to take out more loans and focus on recruiting students who can put more funds towards their education.

Grinnell has one of the largest endowments in the nation, totaling around $1.5 billion. Only about 10 percent of students pay full price and about one-third are on full scholarships to the college that is home to about 1,600 students. Grinnell College President Raynard Kington said one goal is to keep the same level of economic diversity that they currently have on campus.

The poor performance of the endowment investments and an increase in the need for student aid has led the college to predict that it will have a budget deficit in the next two to three years.

The average debt for Grinnell students is $15,720. This is the lowest amount of student debt in the state and is about half the amount in which students at the public universities find themselves. The school has raised the maximum amount of loans that students are allowed to take out.

The policy right now is to admit the best students, regardless of their ability to pay. This is a noble cause, but unfortunately the system it has right now is not sustainable.

I sincerely hope that Ginnell can get this figured out. If you have been at Iowa State for the past few years, then you have probably gone through what the students at Grinnell are going through.

Grinnell College does a great job of focusing on its students, and putting students’ abilities over their ability to pay is a very honorable cause, but costs continuing to rise while it gets increasingly harder for students to pay for college, plus the unpredictability of investments, makes its goal seem very daunting. Even in its current situation, I believe that Grinnell College provides a student-focus model that Iowa State should consider taking a look at.

Grinnell is not alone in its struggle to help needy students. After Iowa’s Regent universities voted to stop funding scholarships through tuition set-aside, the Iowa Legislature is debating where to money to help needy students should come from. The universities have requested $39.5 million for this purpose; Gov. Terry Branstad allowed for $5 million in his budget.

They have also separately requested a 2.6 percent increase in state general education funding along with some money to help Northern Iowa with its budget problems. If these conditions are met, then the universities will freeze tuition for next year.

If you pay any attention to the news, you know that the challenge of paying for college presents a huge obstacle to people all over the country. According to American Student Assistance, a nonprofit focused on student loans, there are about 20 million college students across the United States and about 60 percent of them take out loans to help cover the costs. As our economy continues to struggle, receiving a college education has become more important, but at the same time harder for individuals to achieve.

President Barack Obama drew attention to this issue during his State of the Union Address. He proposes drawing federal financial aid away from colleges who do not control their increasing tuition. The only problem with this is that the federal money goes to the students, not the colleges and universities, so the student, not the institution, would be hurt. It is questionable just how much the federal government can do in this area. We will have to wait and see what it tries (just don’t expect any increases in funding).

For Iowa (and the rest of the country) to move towards a better future, we should focus on making getting a college education affordable. We should be putting more emphasis on preparing students for the jobs that are and will be available; not the ability of a student to pay their way. If Grinnell can figure out a system that allows them to keep hold of their current principle that allows them to continue to look at the student and not their finances, they should lead the nation by teaching other institutions how to do the same. Then we can focus on better things.

Grinnell College is taking students and giving them the opportunity of a lifetime — getting a great education that will prepare them for the career of their dreams. No government institution is needed. In the case of Grinnell College, the private sector is stepping up and helping students achieve the American Dream; maybe politicians of both parties could learn something from Grinnell College.

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Hannah Dankbar is a senior in political science and Spanish from Johnston, Iowa.