A new national report on student debt ranks Wisconsin 19th for graduates owing money on student loans

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Administrators question State's rank in school debt; other state briefs

MADISON -- A new national report on student debt ranks Wisconsin 19th for graduates owing money on student loans. That's up from previous years.

The Project on Student Debt based its rankings on data from the U.S. Education Department. The new Wisconsin figures show that 64-percent of graduates from both public and private, non-profit four-year colleges had debt. The average amount: $21,386. That's an increase of more than $2,000 from the year before, when Wisconsin ranked 26th nationally for graduates with debt.

Susan Fischer, director of financial aid for the UW-Madison, says the average debt finding is pretty much on par with what her data shows. However, she says the report doesn't specify how many loans are not based on financial need. Fischer says there's a lot of loan money that's unsubsidized or based on families' "sometimes unwillingness to pay out of their own pocket so they're able to borrow, even though they don't have demonstrated financial need."

Fischer adds that last year, Congress increased the unsubsidized student loan by $2,000 last year, so that created a jump in borrowing.

Rolf Wegenke, president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, agrees that there's more to the issue than the report suggests. He says the report's data is looking at either the guaranteed or direct government loan program. Wegenke explains that these are subsidized loans so students pay less for them.

In some cases, the interest is deferred, or such loans are even forgiven.

"What concerns us is the additional private borrowing that students are engaged in," adds Wegenke. Credit card debt is also not featured in the findings, adds Fischer.

The authors of the student debt report say that their rankings aren't intended to be comprehensive, but rather to show the high and low ends of debt levels for recent graduates.

-- Brian Bull, WPR

More couples are tightening the belt than marrying

MILWAUKEE --Fewer Wisconsin residents have been getting hitched since the recession hit.

The state Bureau of Health Information and Policy says the marriage rate in 2008 was the lowest on record since 1930-- at 5.6 per 1,000 residents.

Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki (ZAR-neh-skee) says numbers are down this year, as well. He says in 2007, his office issued almost 5,000 marriage licenses. This year -- to date -- 4,485 have been issued and Czarneski doesn't expect to issue many more, given that December is traditionally one of the slower months for weddings.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows Wisconsin residents are part of a nationwide trend of putting off the march to the altar.

The survey says more than 20-percent of adults between 25 to 34 - the age range in which most people get married - say the bad economy has them putting off their "I dos".

Noelle Chesley , a sociology professor at UW-Milwaukee, says those numbers aren't surprising as economic circumstances play a huge role in the decision to marry. A lot of people believe they have to have a really secure economic base to be married.

Chesley says the decline is partly rooted in cultural ideas about gender roles. Men are still under a lot of pressure to be a good provider, and their job circumstances are going to play a huge role in their decision to make a formal marriage proposal. And while women may not feel the same pressure to provide, they may feel that their potential pool of marriage partners is a lot more insecure.

Chesley adds bad economic times also tend to make divorce rates go up. So until things improve, it's not a good time for getting people together or keeping them together.

-- Meghan Wons, WPR

Tax foreclosure rate tied to tax delinquencies

MADISON -- As property tax delinquencies rise in the state, so do tax foreclosures.

Milwaukee County is seeing a substantial increase seen in the number of homeowners behind on paying their property taxes, according to Milwaukee County treasurer John Diliberti. He says in the last five years there's been a 60-percent increase in the number of delinquent taxes just in the Milwaukee County suburbs.

"The city is seeing a higher rate," adds Dilberti.

The problem of property tax delinquencies rising is being felt by counties across the state. According to state law, counties can begin their own foreclosure proceedings if a homeowner is delinquent for two years. In Milwaukee, the city handles its own tax collections and tax foreclosures. Martha Brown is the City's Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Development. She says Milwaukee has seen a substantial increase in the number of homes it's foreclosed on due to tax delinquency. For 2009, the number of properties taken by the city of Milwaukee doubled, says Brown.

Brown says that if the owner has a mortgage, that typically the lender will pay the taxes to avoid losing the property. But she says that's not always the case, and unwanted properties end up in city and county hands for resale.

Since there's a two to three year lag time between delinquency and foreclosure, both Diliberti and Brown say that they expect tax foreclosures to rise in the next few years.

-- Kristen Durst, WPR

Wausau paper takes on new anti-drunk driving tactic

WAUSAU -- As the state legislature prepares to go into special session to toughen drunk driving penalties this week, one central Wisconsin newspaper has taken matters into its own hands.

Pete Wasson, Assistant Managing Editor for Public Service of the Wausau Daily Herald, says he's been frustrated by an inability to change local public opinion about drinking and driving despite a string of recent, highly publicized drunk driving tragedies.

Wasson says for roughly five years, his paper's opinion page has been cajoling, persuading, arguing, shaming, "and doing everything that we could to bring attention to the issue of drunken driving and deter people from drunken driving."

Wasson's newspaper has published names and written editorials condemning the conduct of a parade of public officials arrested for driving drunk. The roster has included two state senators, a state assemblyman, the Wisconsin attorney general, a Wausau city councilman, a radio talk show host and a Northwoods police chief. Wasson says such community leaders have demonstrated "a true lack of responsibility", and notes that in some cases, lawmakers are incapable of obeying the laws that they themselves have passed.

So this holiday season, the Wausau Daily Herald came up with a new idea: get people to sign a pledge that they will not drive when intoxicated. Wasson says that so far, more than 600 people have gotten the message, and added their names to the list. He says almost one person a day dies, on the order of 325 people in drunk driving accidents in the state every year.

"It's noteworthy leadership by these 600 people," says Wasson.

Those who want to sign the pledge to not drink and drive can join the list online at http://wausaudailyherald.com.

-- Glen Moberg, WPR

New initiative could help aspiring graduates finish degree

A regional coalition is using a $100,000 grant to explore a possible service that would help people with college credits -- but no diploma -- find ways to graduate.

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) is using the grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to review the feasibility and cost of what's called the Credential Repository for Education, Skills, and Training (CREST). MHEC administrator Chris Rasmussen says it would help students who've attended several colleges bank and organize their academic credits, as well as any other kind of formal learning experiences they've had including workplace training, certification programs, anything that can be translated into college-level work. universities can then evaluate all that as a package and determine how exactly that individual might meet degree requirements at that institution.

Rasmussen says MHEC isn't out to replace any college's transfer process, but to give students another resource. He says transfer students often consider -- and settle on -- just one school. The credential repository service could change that, allowing people to present their accumulated credits and learning experience, then have half a dozen institutions contact them with information on what particular things need to happen to finish their degree. This can involve classes, completing online activities, or attending a residency. The person can then decide which offer is most attractive out of all the responses they receive.

Rasmussen says they'll explore how to get schools to participate, and fund what'll likely be an online service launched by 2011. He says they'll also make sure only accredited schools participate.

The credit repository would serve MHEC's 12-state region, including Wisconsin.

-- Brian Bull, WPR

Doyle: Stimulus dollars have served their purpose

LA CROSSE -- Governor Jim Doyle is handing out grants to help pay for clean-up of several contaminated properties in the La Crosse area -- and he's defending the effectiveness of federal stimulus money.

A $200,000 grant will go towards demolition and cleanup at the former Trane Company's Plant 6 site in La Crosse. And a $183,000 loan will go to clean up waste at an industrial site at the city of Prairie Du Chien.

Doyle says the money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He says he realizes there has been a lot of debate in the country over the effectiveness of stimulus money, but he champions them as having helped rebuild senior citizen halls, water treatment plants, and numerous construction and highway sites. The Governor says without the stimulus money there would've been thousands of people out of work.

Doyle also says the La Crosse Industrial Park Corporation will get a $165,000 grant from the Department of Commerce to supplement funding for the Trane 6 location.

-- Steve Roisum, WPR

Published 08:19 Dec-14-09 |