UNC Charlotte Center City was the site for a roundtable discussion by U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan on Wednesday, July 3, about college affordability and recent student loan increases.
Hagan was joined by UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, Johnson C. Smith University President Ronald Carter, Queens University President Pamela Davies, Central Piedmont Community College President Tony Zeiss and local students.
As part of the discussion, Hagan noted that for the first time in history, student debt nationally is higher than what Americans owe on credit cards.
“Over 75 percent of the students at UNC Charlotte are on financial aid and more than 60 percent of all students receive loans,” Dubois said. “With 9,345 of our students qualified to receive the federal Pell program, UNC Charlotte has the highest number of students receiving Pell aid of any campus in the UNC system. We will continue to work with our policy makers at the federal and state levels to ensure that higher education remains accessible and affordable.”
Dubois noted that nationwide there has been a “terrific disinvestment in higher education” but that North Carolina has tried to sustain funding for public higher education. He added there is a societal good derived from greater numbers of people with a college education – higher voting rates; increased philanthropic giving; and less likely to be arrested, on welfare or unemployed.
On Monday, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans doubled from 3.4 percent Monday and could stay doubled unless Congress restores lower rates when it returns from the Fourth of July holiday. The rate now stands at 6.8 percent.
More than 176,000 North Carolina students could be impacted during the 2013-14 academic year by the increase in interest rates on subsidized Stafford Loans.