It’s no surprise that a recent report from the state’s auditor general found that student debt is a significant financial issue for many Pennsylvania residents.

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s report noted that the average debt per borrower was approximately $37,000, making it the second highest in the United States, and that the state carries about $68 billion in student loan debt.

Last year, Pennsylvania was ranked in two studies — one from financial advice and credit report provider WalletHub and another from Peterson’s College Data — as being among the states with the highest amounts of college student debt. At the same time, Pennsylvania was ranked 47th among states for per capita funding for higher education.

In his report, DePasquale cites the fact that Pennsylvania is a larger state and the cost of higher education for in-state students at state-related or owned universities is among the highest in the nation.

Following last year’s studies, officials at the county’s institutions of higher learning linked the high rates of student debt with the lack of state funding for higher education.

Slippery Rock University’s president, William Behre, said the state covered about 50 percent of State System of Higher Education school budgets in the 1990s, but that current funding levels — between 25 to 27 percent of budgets — are among the lowest in the nation. Additionally, the State System has only frozen tuition three times — this year’s freeze was due to COVID-19 — in 36 years.

In a 2019 editorial, we called on lawmakers to prioritize public funding for higher education, but DePasquale suggested in his study that the General Assembly create an independent office of student loan advocates, which he said would give those who receive loans a voice in state government.

Not a bad idea. The burden of student debt is one that weighs heavily on many people in the United States — for some, it’s a process that can take as long as a decade.

Giving students in need of financial assistance an advocate in state government and resources to navigate the system could go a long way in allowing students to fret less about the money they owe and focus more on the education they’re receiving.

Naturally, we’d need to see a detailed plan for such an initiative — and it’s currently only being floated as an idea. But it’s a compelling one that might be worthy of consideration.

— NCD