RUNNING HEAD: POLICY ALTERNATIVE

Policy Alternative
Ashley Merrill
Fk8083
SW4710
Wayne State University

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Abstract

The following research article is a continuation of the previous paper written by the
author titled Student Loan Policies for Social Work 4710 taught by Dr. Martin. This paper will
be taking the Analysis of current student loan policies and working on introducing a new policy.
The new policy will be compared to other countries and the policies they have in place for
student loans. The new policy will then be named and described on either the local, state or
federal level of change. When also discussing a new policy, the topic of feasibility will be
discussed. The feasibility will be examined to determine if the new policy is a realistic policy for
the United States. The new policy will also explain how it meets social equality, redistribution of
services and social work values and ethics according to the National Association of Social
Workers Code of Ethics. How to implement the new policy in the United States will also be
touched on including who is for and who is against the new policy. Lastly, the author of this
research paper will go into detail to discuss personal feelings of the new policy and how it relates
to the authors role as a social worker.
Policy Analysis
As discussed in the previous research paper Student Loan Policies it was discovered that
the national student debt in the United States had reached one trillion dollars by October 2011
according to Monks (2014). It was also discovered that the demand of higher education caused
the inflation in tuition which resulted in many Americans having to rely on additional resources
to pay their tuition. Fast forward to present day and most students have to use student loans just
to have the opportunity to receive a college education. The problem with using student loans is
that due to the amount students are borrowing and the interest that is tacked on, it can be nearly
impossible to pay the loans back in a reasonable amount of years. Student loans follow many

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borrowers around half their lifetime. In fact, according to Koprowski, Lindberg & Razaki (2014)
a quarter of borrowers owe over $28,000 followed by ten percent of borrowers owing more than
$54,000.
As discussed previously there have been current policies in place to help students with
their debt and repaying their loans. President Obama implemented several policies to make
college more affordable for students. One policy Obama implemented was the Pay As You Earn
policy which capped off repayments at ten percent of the borrowers monthly income. He also
implemented Loan Forgiveness which write off borrowers loans after ten years of employment in
public service. While these policies may help student borrowers, it doesnt necessarily make
college more affordable. While the United States struggles to find a solution to the student debt
crisis, may other countries already have policies in place that provide very affordable higher
education for its residents. After comparisons to other countries, a new policy will be proposed
for affordable higher education in the United States.
Comparisons to Other Countries
Many European countries have adapted a universal higher education policy. Essentially,
higher education is funded through other sources rather than charging the student tuition.
Funding is provided through taxes, philanthropists, and charity organizations to name a few. In
the United States each state has a budget available for each student. Due to the recent decline in
each states budget, the costs per student needs to be made up somehow and that is where the
student takes on the deficit and continue to fund rising tuition costs themselves.
According to Lane (2015) many US students are choosing to study Abroad. Lane (2015)
explains that The US is losing its dominance in the global higher education market. With
many European countries providing free higher education it is no surprise that an American

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student would consider studying abroad for their degree. In fact, Lane (2015) mentions that
Germany is drawing in many American students due to its free higher education as well as other
countries such as Austria, France and Norway which gladly accepts and pays for not only their
own citizens education costs but foreign students as well.
One country to focus on is Ireland who provides free universal higher education to its
citizens as well as not charging any fees like some countries do. While some European countries
have free tuition, they do require students to pay for fees which can covers the costs of
registration, teaching fees, equipment, and supplies. Ireland does not charge these fees.
According to Shattock (2010) The higher education systems of England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland have enormously strengthened their financial infrastructure by the decision to introduce
the 2006 fee package, while Ireland rejected the OECD recommendation to reintroduce fees.
Shattock (2010) also explained that their would be plenty of political barriers to break before
Ireland would be able to reintroduce fees.
Ireland has seen a major increase in students participating in higher education. Since
Ireland has become a country of universal higher education without fees in the late 1990s, 54
percent of citizens 25 and younger were enrolled in higher education (Shattock, 2010).
According to Shattock (2010) Ireland depends much more on state funding to provide universal
higher education. Other European countries do not rely as much on the state for funding which
is why they rely more on extra fees paid by the student.
Part of the reason that Ireland provides no cost higher education is due to the economic
benefit for the country. To understand how important universal higher education is for Irelands
economy, Clancy and Kehoe (1999) state:

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In the republic of Ireland, the vast expansion in educational provision over the
past three decades has been explicitly linked to efforts to stimulate economic
growth in a country which came late to industrialization. And while the
achievement of economic progress was a rocky road, with many setbacks, the
successes achieved in the past five years to become the fastest growing economy
in Western Europe has served to legitimate prioritization of expenditure on
education, especially higher education.

The use of economic growth due to higher education stimulation is something the United
States could greatly benefit from. According to Shattock (2010) in addition to Clancy and Kehoe
(1999) he mentions that graduates from Irish universities become well equipped with skills to
enhance the economy by improving the image of the country and therefore influencing
international companies to expand to Ireland. According to Clancy (1999) in 1999 the Gross
National Product of Ireland saw a growth of 7.5 percent in just four years which has proven that
the use of universal higher education is a strong economic strategy.
Ireland has also made it convenient for its students of low socioeconomic background to
get a higher education and not just due to its lack of tuition costs. By providing universal higher
education to its citizens, they are able to remain living at home saving on living expenses as well
as continue to stay employed in their community (Shattock, 2010). Students that have to leave
home to attend college in the United States have hefty living costs at either a dorm or off campus
housing. Living expenses is part of the reason students in the United States have to take out
higher amounts past their tuition costs in student loans. Students are then left with an

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overwhelming amount of debt to repay when they graduate, with tacked on interest that at this
point in times seems almost impossible to repay.
Policy Alternative
The policy alternative the author is introducing is called the National Universal Higher
Education Act. Under the National Universal Higher Education Act, students in the United states
pursuing an education after high school will be able to have full tuition covered at no cost to
them. According to Shen and Ziderman (2008) students is Nordic countries are seen as
financially independent from their parents. The National Universal Higher Education Act would
also follow along with the line of thinking that students are not expected to rely on their parents.
The commonly held ideological justification for higher education among the European countries
who offer fee free tuition is the mentality of determination not to allow socio-economic barriers
to inhibit those citizen with competent intellectual abilities and desires from enrolling in an
appropriate higher education institution (Biffl and Isaac, 2002). In appreciation of the European
principals just explained, the National Universal Higher Education Act will be built on the same
principal of bettering the country by bettering its citizens with equal opportunity regarding
higher learning.
The new policy will be modeled after Irelands universal higher education and focus on
funding from a state level. This would mean that each state higher education institution will rely
on money from tax payers to support the financial costs. Positive effects on the new policy could
cause universities to lower their tuition costs all together knowing that it is coming from tax
payer dollars and their has to be a cap at some point of how much income tax they can take.
As seen by the way Ireland operates with its universal higher education, it shows that
incorporating a policy like this in the United States is possible. In fact, this is not unheard of in

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the United States. Just like Ireland saw an increase in the economic growth once universal
higher education was put in place, the United States saw a similar result in the early 19th century
in New York. The College of the City of New York was a 4 year higher education institution
which was the first tax-supported institution to be founded in the world (Levine and Levine,
2012). The College of the City of New York saw higher education as an addition of free and
public high school and was also stated as having helped unify the nation. The College of the
City of New York showed a lot of successes that the state greatly benefitted from. In fact, Levine
and Levine (2012) explain:
The more than 42,000 City College graduates went on to serve their
community Teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, legislatures, judges,
architects, ministers, scientists, accountant, and business leaders, they made a
valuable contribution to the life of their time and justified the faith of the city
which paid for their college education. Some among these alumni made a special
mark in the world of their day They constitute an illustrious company by any
standard of judgment. In 2000, CUNY was able to count among its graduates 11
Nobel laureates as well as numerous illustrious alumni in the arts, sciences,
literature, law, politics, education, and other fields. The list especially
noteworthy, because many who made such great contributions to American life
might not have gone to college at all were it not for the Free Academy and its
progeny. A system of free education which contributed such men to American
society must be considered for this reason alone, an important success.

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With such positive proven contributions of what free learning has done, it would be hard
to argue against the National Universal Higher Education Act as a new policy for the United
States to adopt. With it being so successful for the citizens and the economy of many European
countries it is hard to believe that the United States has not followed suit. The National
Universal Higher Education Act can not only help the economy of the United States, its student
debt crisis but also its unemployment rates. Biffl and Isaac (2002) explain that countries that had
universal higher education also had half the unemployment rates than countries without universal
higher education had in 1998. The new policy alternative proposed in this paper could decrease
unemployment rate in the United States that has been known to have higher unemployment rates
than most industrialized countries.
Policy Feasibility
The political feasibility of the National Universal Higher Education Act will depend on
who will and who will not support it. The new policies success will be based on whether the
public accepts it, as well as political groups. The general public does not show negative
attitudes towards universally free higher education tuition, but the general publics opinions on
new policies can be outweighed by lobbying efforts of established groups or organization with
strong political pull. For instance the thirty million United States citizens under the poverty line
have next to no political influence where an organization like the National Rifle Association can
choose to shut down unfavorable policies. They can also implement policies they consider are
unfavorable in a way that they are destined to fail (Karger and Stoesz, 2012). The second half of
gaining political feasibility for a new policy must be a group or organization with credibility and
strong influence. The United States President, Barack Obama, has already demonstrated
favoritism towards tuition free higher education in his statements supporting free tuition for two

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year degree institutions (Goonen, 2015).

The Economic feasibility of the National Universal Higher Education act is less
complicated but will involve a longer process of implementation when compared to political
feasibility as well as being directly tied into the politics of the act. The primary source or funds to
support the Act will come from federal income tax. The United States general population has
shown in the past a negative attitude to increases in taxes. This is how the implementation is tied
into the political feasibility and is also crucial to the success of the Act. To start, the tax would
begin smaller and at the state level focusing on state colleges, community colleges, and local two
year institutions like President Obama has also mentioned implementing. The program
would begin with a small tax increase spread evenly between the different socio-economic
backgrounds with those of lower status paying less than those of higher status, to better benefit
those who need the aid the most. Over a short time with confirmed benefits the tax would be
increased to even further solidify the benefits of a higher tax rate with monetary benefits directed
towards higher education. A pre-determined timeline and meeting certain public acceptance
qualifications, the program would move to a national level and be removed from the state level.
The economic feasibility is directly tied into the programs political feasibility at the funding level
but because the programs economic feasibility is dependent on increased tax revenue it will not
have to rely on redistribution of existing funds from other governmental programs. This makes
the economic feasibility only dependent on the political feasibility. This minimizes the effort
needed to gain acceptance and begin implementation.
Even with the political and economic feasibility backing the new policy, the policy could
still fail if there is no administration set up to see the policy through or come to life come or
followed through. There is already a large workforce involved with federal grants, scholarships,

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and loans. With the implementation of the National Universal Higher Education Act being free
tuition, there will be a small demand for any of the already established aid programs. The new
organization will use its already established work force by reframing the tasks needed for old
policies and using them for the new policy. There would not be a need for additional
administration saving on costs as the production will stay the same.
Implementation
The continued implementation of the National Universal Higher Education Act centers on
the programs ability to begin in the first place. The program will need to be backed by the public
before it is fully enacted because the funding depends on a higher tax. If the program is
implemented at the urging of the public, it will already have demonstrated acceptance. The
program does not have much likelihood of failure from lack of administration either as the
workforce is already in place under the governments existing higher education aid workforce.
Policy Goals
According to Karger and Stoesz (2012) one important aspect of a policy is who
will be covered by the policy and how? All US citizens who have completed high school or a
high school diploma equivalent will qualify to participate in universal higher education. This
new policy will also promote social equality giving every US citizen the opportunity to pursue
and education and leaving no person behind no matter what socioeconomic background they
come from. Particularly, those from a low socioeconomic background will benefit the most at an
opportunity they most likely will not have been able to afford prior to the new policy. As
previously mentioned most of Americas most notable contributions have been made by those
who may not have been able to afford higher education if it wasnt for the College of the City of
New York providing them with free education. It is a shame to think that the land of the free

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does not give its citizens the opportunity to explore their knowledge base and ability without
funding their own efforts considering that once they do they could be the ones to make a major
breakthrough in science, technology or business that could change the United States as we know
it.
The distribution of services would be evenly distributed and open to those who want it.
There would be no prerequisites to qualify for funding as there is now such as the Pell grant,
scholarships, or loans. The only distribution that would be limited is the spaces available for
students at each university. Students will have to apply to their school of choice and based on
academics and intentions of their academic pursuit would either be accepted or denied
enrollment. This forces the student to challenge themselves academically when they know that
money is no longer a deterrent from attending a learning institution but their own academic
effort. This can increase a students academic career in high school and in return result in a
bettering of the quality of student.
Looking at the new policy from a social work perspective, when installing the
new policy of universal higher education in the United States it would need to follow the
National Association of Social Workers code of ethics. In particular it would follow the NASW
principal of social justice. The principal of social justice promotes social workers to pursue
change for oppressed groups (NASW, 2015). By forming the National Universal Higher
Education Act it follows the principal of social justice by providing an equality to oppressed
individuals from a low socio-economic background the chance at a college education. This is
providing equality among all economic levels with the same opportunity.
I personally fully agree that this new alternative policy is a possibility in the United
States. Through the research it has been proven that it is possible to attain this new policy by

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other countries already providing free college education to its citizens. I believe that equal
opportunity for all citizens is important and can provide great economic gains in the United
States. As a social worker I feel it is my duty to keep advocating for alternative policies to
combat the student debt crisis. While I may not be in school when any changes happen, if they
do happen, I know I will advocate for generations to come and on my future childrens behalf.

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Reference Annotation
Biffl, G., & Isaac, J. (2002). Should Higher Education Students Pay Tuition Fees? European
Journal of Education, 37(4), 433-448. doi:2002
In this article the author explains the fees associated with universal higher education. Fees can
include registration fees, teaching fees, and supplies fees. The author explains that some
countries decide to charge fees if they are not charging for tuition. The author concluded that
universal higher education students have almost half the unemployment rates than students who
only completely secondary school.
Clancy, P., & Kehoe, D. (1999). Financing Third-Level Students in Ireland. European Journal of
Education, 34(1), 44-56. doi:1999
This article covers the economic growth in Ireland. The authors explain how the universal
higher education policies promote economic growth. The authors also explain why it is
beneficial for states to invest in education of its citizens. The authors also touch on the fact that
Ireland does not charge fees like some other European countries do.
Code of Ethics - National Association of Social Workers. (2015). Retrieved November 28, 2015,
from https://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp
This article describes the code of ethics set for by the National Association of Social Workers. It
includes six principals to follow. It also provides numbered codes to follow. The article should
states that it should be followed by every social worker to practice competently.
Goonen,N.(2015,March31).IsFreeTuitionPlanaGoodIdea?NoCost,TwoYearEducation
CanHelpMaintainUSLeadership.SouthFloridaSunSentinel.

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The author of this article begins with mentioning several countries that already provide universal
higher education. President Obama is also trying to get free community college degrees for US
citizens. Programs like this could promote higher grade point averages with students being
responsible for maintaining a 2.5 go a to qualify. The author explains the outcome could be a
economically positive for the US.
Karger,H.,&Stoesz,D.(2014).Americansocialwelfarepolicy:Apluralistapproach(Seventh
ed.).UpperSaddleRiver,NewJersey:PearsonEducation.
This book follows the approach to making and following policies in American Social Welfare.
The authors explain what a policy is. They also go on to explain policies that are in place
currently for social welfare. The authors also discuss how to implement a policy.
Lane, J. (2015, October 14). US Losing Its Dominance in Global Higher Education Market.
Huffington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2015, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/us-losing-its-dominancei_b_8294548.html
This article explains how the United States is losing some of its students to international
education. The article explains that there are many European countries that supply free college
education to international students. Due to universal higher education in Europe the United
States is losing its dominance in higher education. The author also comments on how the
universities work to employ graduates in their countries.
Levine, A., & Levine, M. (2012). American journal of orthopsychiatry: Toward universal higher
education, maybe American Psychological Association. doi:10.1111/j.19390025.2012.01173.x
The article explores the possibility of universal higher education in the United States. The author

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describes president Obama pushing towards at least the first two years of higher education cost
free. It was mentioned that at one point a college in New York provided free education and the
students were able to contribute more back to society once they graduated. Lastly, the article
mentions how it could be an economic gain for the country to provide universal higher
education.
Monks, J. (2014). The Role of Institutional and State Aid Policies in Average Student Debt. The
ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 123-142.
InthisarticleMonksexplainsthelinkbetweenstudentdebtandtuitioninflation.Monksgoeson
tosaythattheremaybearelationtoamountofstudentdebtnotsolelyduetotuitioninflationbut
becauseofstateandfederalfinancialaidpolicies.Hestatesthatthedebtcouldbecausedby
limitingloansandgraduatingwithhighpayingmajorsthantherateoftuition.Monksalso
explainsthatpublicuniversitieshavealesserstudentdebtfromreceivingstateaid.
Razaki, K., Koprowski, W., & Lindberg, D. (2014). The Student Loan Crisis: Background,
Motivations of Participants, and Regulatory Issues. Journal of Business and Accounting,
7(1), 94-104.
Razaki explains the history of the student loan and its borrowers. He tells how the loan has
picked up over time and reasons for the inflation. In this article Razaki says that there are
motivations from lenders, educational institutions and the government which could be the cause
of the student debt crisis. At the end of the article Razaki goes on to explain possible policies to
control the student debt crisis.
Shattock,M.(2010).ManagingMassHigherEducationinaPeriodofAusterity.Artsand
HumanitiesinHigherEducation,9(1),2230.

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Inthisarticletheauthorexplainsthepositiveimpactofuniversalhighereducation.Theauthor
focusesonIreland.IthasshownthateconomicallyIrelandsuniversalhighereducationhas
improvedIrelandseconomy.TheauthoralsoexplainsthatIrelandsgradatesreceiveaquality
training.
Shen, H., & Ziderman, A. (2008). Student loans repayment and recovery: International
comparisons. High Educ Higher Education, 315-333. doi:10.10007/s10734-008-9146-0
In this article the author compares loan schemes in 39 countries. The author explores the
repayments and recovery during the loan period. Results found that in 2008 the recovery of loans
was a lot lower than expected. The article ends with possible policies that couldn't improve the
financial outcomes of loans.