Students graduating from Iowa State have the highest debt of any other schools in the Big 12 Conference.

In addition, the state of Iowa is ranked number one in the country for highest average amount of debt from graduating students, according to a report by The Project on Student Debt.

This issue currently being tackled by student leaders within the Government of the Student Body. GSB President Daniel Fischer, senior in agricultural business, and Vice President Maggie Luttrell, senior in history, have decided to make the issue of student debt their “number one” focus for their term.

The reasons students are graduating with high debt are varied, according to a report by The Project on Student Debt. Some reasons include “high tuition, inadequate grant and scholarship programs for students with financial need, the cost of housing and other expenses in particular communities or the demographic makeup of the graduating class,” according to the report.

Luttrell said she and Fischer are working on “launching a financial aid campaign” in the near future. Plans to address issues of student debt were on both the executive officers’ campaign promise lists. Luttrell also stated she and Fischer are working with the Office of Student Finance as well as the ISU Financial Counseling Clinic in order to realize this project. Fischer said right now, the project is still in its early stages.

“The goal of the project is to communicate and advertise resources already available to students,” Fischer said.

The resources Fischer is referring to are the ISU Financial Counseling Clinic and the Office of Student Finance.

“I think the issue is that students don’t know they’re there,” Fischer said regarding the two offices.

Fischer and Luttrell are applying a “simple method” of advertising the facilities. Currently, Fischer and Luttrell are finding information about the cost of advertising in the Daily as well as on CyRide buses.

“We want the whole university as well as families of students as an audience for this project,” Fischer said.

The two executive officers have plans to take this project to senate in hopes of gaining financial aid for advertising.

In addition to the financial aid campaign, Luttrell has plans to implement a one-credit online financial literacy course. Although the project is still in its “preliminary stages” Luttrell said she has spoken with various members of faculty, including financial counselor Doug Borkowski, lecturer in human development and family studies. The response she’s gotten in regards to this project has been supportive. Luttrell said she has also spoken with the Board of Regents as well as Tom Hill, vice president for student affairs, and President Gregory Geoffroy, who expressed interest as well, but also “wanted to know the logistics” of the project.

“The ultimate goal is to increase the degree of financial awareness in students,” said Ryan Kennedy, GSB director of academic affairs and senior in accounting.

Kennedy has been working alongside Luttrell to implement an online financial literacy course. He said the project is still in its preliminary stages, though he and Luttrell have been active in promoting it. He is not sure what the course will consist of at this moment, but said the course will take material from human growth and development courses already offered at Iowa State.