Faculty concern over student debt

For many years, as a delegate to the Arts and Sciences Council, I rose to ask the dean of faculty to estimate the highest amount of debt a Duke senior might carry when leaving the University. I was always told that the dean would get back to me with that figure, but it never happened. Then, about six years ago, the dean answered my question on the spot. Thanks to a newly established policy, the most debt a Duke student would have to accumulate, he said, was $20,000.

That was a comforting figure, until I spoke with a student a few days ago who confided that her debt is $90,000 and counting—a third of it owed to the Feds and the rest to Duke. I don’t know how common this situation is, but the Arts and Sciences Council should surely look into it, perhaps via a web site where students could confidentially indicate excessive debt. A way must be found to prevent students—however few or many—from leaving this school prospectively broke for decades to come. I hope and believe that many faculty colleagues at Duke share this concern and want it acted upon.

Victor Strandberg

Professor of English