Rising student debt is “not necessarily” a sign of trouble for the economy, Alan Krueger, the chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers told an audience primarily of students at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research today.
“Students get a high return” from a college education, he said. But he added that it’s important to keep interest rates “as low as possible” for student loans and for students “to make good decisions” on what they study and the colleges they attend.
Krueger noted that the administration is pushing colleges to provide better information to students on job placement rates so that students can assess the value of their college spending. While he lauded the administration for providing an increase in Pell Grants for low income students, he said “it’s important for states to do their part.”
