What about the university administrators with made-up jobs? Student Success Coordinators and Wellness Promotion Managers are getting salaries for doing almost nothing of import, and it's all on the backs of students, mostly student loan borrowers.
And even the categories of university administration growth that aren't whimsical odes to self-licking ice cream cones are due to unfunded mandates from state and federal government. It certainly seems fair to ask taxpayers to pay for costs imposed by their representatives.
I don't know what the right answer is. But here's a proposal:
- Drastically reduce governmental administrative burden. There doesn't need to be a parallel system of criminal justice, for example. If a student accuses another of a sexual assault, it should be investigated by professional law enforcement and, if there's merit to it, prosecuted by a professional ADA. It shouldn't be the subject of a chimerical Title IX kangaroo court.
- Cap administration costs at 20% of the total budget as a requirement for federal funding for student aid (but not research grants).
- Federal student loans should either be made at the Fed rate or dischargeable in bankruptcy. The idea that non-dischargeable debt is as high as 8.5% is absurd.
- Student loan repayment payroll tax. Payments come out of payroll, before income taxes.
- Universal IDR. Everyone is on IDR by default. Every tax filing, your new IDR amount is automatically calculated and transmitted to your employer for appropriate payroll tax.
- Tiered Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 7 years for teachers, military, firefighters, national rangers in receipt of hazard pay, etc. (public servants with significant sacrifice). 10 years for other public employment. 10 years for private employment of particularly high social value (doctors, nurses, family law, farming, safety workers, electricians and other infrastructure folks, etc. etc.). 15 years for all others.