Congressman John Carney (D-Delaware) is looking for ways to better address rising cost of higher education, hosting the first in a series of roundtables on the topic Monday in Dover.
Carney talked with a parents, school guidance counselors and other officials to get a better understanding of what is needed to improve the process of sending students to college.
The rapid rise in tuition rates and student loan debt is making college affordability a bigger issue for the middle-class. The panel attempted to identify ways that parents and schools can better prepare for the financial burden.
“Parents and families come in with not a lot of information and in some cases get themselves into financial situations that are just not affordable," said Carney. "We have to think of ways that we can better formulate policy to address the needs of affordability for each individual family so we can make access – and success – in higher education more of a reality for these students.”
Monday's panel agreed that more transparency from colleges and universities of the actual costs and getting parents involved earlier in the planning is essential to understanding families determining their actual financial responsibility. They also noted additional training for school guidance counselors would be useful.
Carney adds that for Delaware and the United States to be competitive in global competition for jobs it’s important to seek ways to keep the cost of a college education down.
“I think what we need to do is make sure that each family has the information that they need and the resources that they need to make higher education affordable because we know that in order to be successful in this world they’re going to need that degree," Carney said.
