Although a college education always is expensive and represents a significant opportunity cost for students, Iowa State reportedly has some of the lowest in-state tuition around, according to recent findings by the Wall Street Journal. The Journal’s survey ranked Iowa State 17th out of “72 public universities with substantial research activity, including many state ‘flagship schools’” for lowest tuition The report cited our $7,726/year rate for 2012-13 in a range from a low of $6,049 to a high of $16,590.

In a context of constant concern about how to slow the rise of student debt and maybe even lower tuition through the elimination of tuition set-asides and increased aid from the State of Iowa — including a grant program for need-based aid — this news was surprising.

The financial burdens of rising tuition, which many students meet through more and more borrowing, have been cause for concern for a very long time. Taking a quick glance through the Daily’s archives online, we find that in March 1997, one student wrote a letter to the editor to express his concern that students held too much debt. In July 1998, a columnist decried Congress’ apparent lack of concern about the accumulation of student debt. 

In September 1997, ISU President Martin C. Jischke brought the issue before the Iowa Board of Regents. The next semester, in January 1998, a news article compared student indebtedness and financial aid at Iowa State to that at the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Drake University. Back then, Cyclones graduated with about $17,600 in student loan debt.

Alas, student debt and tuition have only risen, and student debt has persisted as a point of much contention.

The Government of the Student Body currently has a page on its website to describe their assessment of student debt with their ideas of how to mitigate borrowing to attend college. In May 2012, the university touted its efforts to increase financial literacy and awareness among students. And, in July, President Steven Leath testified before a committee of the U.S. Senate, pinpointing many ways in which universities can make a college education more accessible from a financial standpoint.

The Wall Street Journal’s report suggests that on paper, student debt at Iowa State should not be as high as it is. We expect there are a few possibilities as to the cause. Perhaps students are borrowing more than they need, using the extra money to pay not for books and other academic expenses but Xboxes, clothes, cars and booze. It’s possible that students simply are unaware of the financial commitments they are making. Maybe parents and families do not contribute as much as they should, or incoming students have no savings upon which to draw.

The tuition rate set by the Board of Regents and the appropriations made by the State cannot be the only contributor to the problem of student debt. Since there are so many peripheral issues involved — some of which may even be cultural — finding a solution and digging through all the accounting and demographic data will require immense energy and dedication. But, if the prospect of high student debt is what keeps potential students from going to college and thereby keeps colleges from contributing to the world outside their campuses, the origins of student debt clearly need definition.