Pashinski introduces Delayed Payment Plan for burden-free community college
H.B. 827 would provide tuition up front with no interest for 10 years to qualifying PA students
Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski April 3, 2023 | 11:57 AM
HARRISBURG, April 3 – State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, introduced H.B. 827 this week, legislation providing a pathway for community college students at any of Pennsylvania’s 15 state community colleges and the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology to complete their degree or certificate program and secure a steady, full-time job before beginning to repay the cost of their tuition. Graduates would have 10 years to pay off the cost of tuition, interest free.
“Student debt continues to overburden Pennsylvania’s higher education students and discourage Pennsylvanians from pursuing a degree that can significantly increase their ability to find a good job,” Pashinski said. “Meanwhile, well-paying jobs go unfilled across the state because we don’t have enough workers with the education needed to fill those roles. My Delayed Payment Plan would help address each of these issues, allowing our residents to improve their career prospects while filling the family-sustaining jobs of today and tomorrow.”
Once established, the Delayed Payment Plan program would pay up front for the community college education of participating Pennsylvania students attending one of 15 state community colleges or the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology who pursue a degree in a high-need career path and agree to stay in Pennsylvania after graduating until their tuition is repaid. The agreement would require the graduate to pay back what they owe using a minimum of 2% of their future earnings within 10 years of graduating – interest free. Anyone with an outstanding balance following those 10 years would be required to pay an interest rate of 3.5% on their remaining balance until they’ve finished paying their tuition.
“Community College students are often forced to delay their studies as they struggle to pay both their bills and tuition – by paying the cost of tuition up front they can focus their energy on completing their studies and finding a well-paying job,” Pashinski said. “It’s time for Pennsylvania to take the lead when it comes to addressing the student debt crisis, while simultaneously providing a better-educated workforce for employers. It’s time for the Delayed Payment Plan.”
According to a study by the Milken Institute, “adding one year to the average years of schooling among the employed in a metropolitan area is associated with an increase in real GDP per capita of 10.5 percent and an increase in real wages per worker of 8.4 percent.” Pashinski’s bill would allow the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the agency that would administer the program, to extend the program to qualifying students at Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education schools after five years.
More details on the plan and how it would be funded are available here.
House Bill 827 now awaits referral to committee.