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A  Study  of  Student  Loans

The  objection  will  be  made  in  some  quarters  that  such  a  policy  would
make  it  impossible  for  the  less  well-to-do  Student  to  receive  a  higher  education.
  There  is  no  foundation  for  this.  The  policy  here  advocated  would
add  relatively  little  to  the  student’s  annual  expenses  and  the  desirable
Student  would  be  able  to  meet  these  additional  expenses  if  a  well  worked-out
program  for  aid  to  students  were  installed.  The  means  for  Student  aid  are
many  at  present  and  new  ones  can  be  devised.  For  instance,  a  higher  education
  is  the  only  product  having  a  commercial  value  which  has  not  availed
itself  of  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  modern  institution  of  credit.  The
type  of  enrollment  need  not  be  changed  by  increased  tuition  and  fees  if,
at  the  time  such  a  policy  is  introduced,  a  well  worked-out  plan  of  Student
assistance  is  put  into  Operation.
At  some  institutions  it  is  believed  that  with  a  sufificient  amount  of
endowments  and  a  limited  enrollment,  the  financial  ills  will  have  been  done
away  with  and  tuition  can  be  kept  at  a  fixed  and  nominal  level.  This  is,  no
doubt,  a  very  sound  view  and  perhaps  one  which  should  be  adopted  for
both  financial  and  educational  reasons.  But  the  fact  remains  that  there  is
a  growing  number  of  young  people  seeking  a  College  and  university  education
  who  must  be  cared  for.  This  is  necessary  in  the  interest  of  the
advancement  of  learning  and  a  progressive  society.  As  the  economic,
political,  and  cultural  phases  of  our  civilization  grow  and  become  more
complex,  there  will  be  need  of  an  increasing  number  of  trained  individuals
who  will  seek  to  understand  the  guiding  principles  of  our  civilization;  and
thus  be  in  a  position  to  direct  human  endeavor  accordingly.  The  increase
in  the  absolute  number  of  College  trained  people  is  not  the  criterion  of
sound  policy,  but  the  proportion  of  the  population  which  is  receiving  a
College  education  must  be  used  as  a  measure  to  determine  whether  institutions ­
  of  higher  learning  are  leading  civilization  or  merely  following  it.
It  is  the  common  error  of  thinking  in  absolute  terms  rather  than  in  terms
of  ratios.
If  the  institutions  of  higher  learning  now  in  existence  close  their
doors  against  the  increasing  numbers  that  seek  admittance,  new  institutions ­
  will  have  to  be  established  and  the  same  financial  problems  will  arise.
Or,  on  the  other  hand,  large  numbers  will  fail  to  get  the  necessary  training
to  be  in  a  position  to  guide  human  efforts  and  instead  of  progress,  Stagnation ­
  and  retardation  will  set  in.  It  is  therefore  a  problem  which  must  be
confronted  and  means  devised  to  solve  it.