Gators who fear a lifetime of paying off student loans can look to the Pacific Northwest for hope.
A bill proposed in the Washington House of Representatives would create a pay-it-forward program for paying college tuition.
If the bill passes, students would attend school tuition-free and then contribute a fixed percentage of their income — no more than 5 percent — to a common education fund upon receiving a job post-graduation.
In 2013, Oregon legislators passed a bill ordering a higher education commission to decide whether the program would work in their states.
But Florida legislators have yet to show interest in pursuing a similar program.
Brittany Davis, the Florida Board of Governors communications director, said one of the factors the board considers when allocating funds to universities is how accessible the schools are to students.
“The Board of Governors is following all tuition proposals with interest and believes the system must demonstrate the value it creates and move into an era of performance funding,” she said.
But Larry Kenny, a UF economics professor, is skeptical of the success of a pay-it-forward program.
“Yale had a program like this back in the ‘70s, and they shut it down,” Kenny said. “Basically, you’re allowing people to be a librarian at a low salary and saying that 4 percent of their income will pay off their loan over time, when sometimes, the proportion just isn’t high enough.”
But for students like Colby Royce who are worried about accumulating debt, the program sounds like a good idea.
The 21-year-old UF finance junior will have to take out loans for graduate school.
“The opportunity to avoid paying interest, which is just lost money that’s not going to your education, would give students the chance to pursue a career they truly would be happier in,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 3/27/2014 under the headline "Tuition debt program not on Fla. radar"]
