Opinion: We’ve saddled college students with debt. Surprise: They’re dropping out.

To the editor: Peter McPherson’s article on college student debt was an exercise in blaming the victim. His educational background should have taught him better than to effectively blame students for dropping out with high debt loads. (“How to measure success in higher ed? Not just how many students attend, but how many graduate,� Opinion, Aug. 22)

McPherson received his bachelor’s degree from the college he would eventually lead, Michigan State University. Did McPherson fail to remember that his education at MSU was virtually free? Even if he had failed to graduate, he would not have been saddled with debt.

Land-grant universities began in 1862 as a cooperative venture financed by both the state and federal governments to fund major public universities that would educate qualified students in every new generation for the benefit of all Americans. Over the last few decades, public funding of these schools has dried up. Students now cover this shortfall with crippling tuition and fees.

McPherson seems not to appreciate the financial burdens currently imposed on public college students.

Terrence R. Dunn, Bakersfield

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To the editor: McPherson claims that college-educated workers are more productive. But there is no evidence that finishing a degree makes one more productive. Employers give the more productive jobs to graduates simply because that is the easiest way of selecting applicants. And smarter people are more likely to finish their degrees.

The education system is thus acting simply as a very expensive filter. And it is a process that is continually escalating, as people seek more and more degrees not to change themselves, but to keep one step ahead of the competition.

The waste of our national resources is staggering.

Rory Johnston, Hollywood

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To the editor: Most public and nonprofit universities experience fairly high graduation rates because they are selective in whom they admit and offer remedial services to those students who may be deficient in an area or two but otherwise have a reasonably good chance of success.

Because of their different mission, community colleges typically have an open admission policy and unfortunately will experience a higher dropout rate. They also offer associate degree and certificate programs leading to good careers that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Students who complete a two-year program shouldn’t be considered unsuccessful.

The real problem is with for-profit schools that prey on those who don’t possess the necessary qualifications for admission to a regionally accredited institution or who cannot get into a community college certificate program. These students are set up for failure from Day One. They’ll flounder about until they drop out or graduate with a worthless degree.

They probably make up a significant portion of those who began a course of study but didn’t finish it.

Frank King, Coronado

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