Free college tuition, whether it be in public or private institutions, is out of the question, as Indiana congressmen have not discussed a bill employing this.
While Indiana’s Education system has ranked twenty-seventh in the past year, according to U.S. News, in past years it has not done so well, even dropping as low as forty-six. Even though statistically their schools have improved, citizens disagree.
Many students take issue with the way their school system, including its perceived socially old-fashioned nature, its abundance of religiously influenced decisions, and it’s altogether unwillingness to change. According to the NorthWest Indiana Times (NWI) , this has caused many students to flee the state and look to other places for colleges.
NWI has then predicted many job openings in the foreseeable future, as people retire and die, but there’s no one to fill their place. This has caused some Indiana residence to create the Workforce Ready Grant, which in theory allows people to get free tuition if they choose to pursue a job that is high in demand, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Ebonie Smith, a staff member of American University said, “Only public colleges should be free. It’s up to private institutions to decide their tuition. Plus if they did decide to make it free, my pay would drop way down.”
Another interviewee, Bob Beahm, a physical trainer, stated, “There shouldn’t be financial or geographical barriers between poorer students and college, but that should be provided by the state, not private colleges. They still need a way to make money.”
Financial barriers are a huge issue in Indiana as, on average school costs $18,749, and 14.5% of citizens in Indiana rank below the poverty line, according to Talk Poverty. This stops many people from attending colleges and keeps them below the poverty line, as they cannot get a good enough job, due to the lack of education.