Finally!

                                                                 Finally! It’s over!

This spring 1.9 million students have accepted  certificates of achievement from various US colleges and universities and rejoice in joyous relief that their many, many years of scholastic efforts have ended.

Good News!

 Their newly won accreditation will earn them the right to look forward to employment that could not be expected without the knowledge they just compiled. The struggle is over! This is their time! They can now reap the benefits of their choice profession.

Bad News!

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But after the celebration,  new realizations of uncertainty soon become the next  issue to complete. Student loans  have to be repaid..

Each member of ‘The class of 2015’ graduated with an average of $35,051 in student debt according to an analysis from Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of Edvisors.com, a website that provides information to parents and students about college costs and financial aid.

     Carrying tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt has become the new normal.

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 Thanks to climbing tuition and inadequate planning -for- college savings, 40 million Americans now have at least one outstanding student loan, according to new analysis from credit bureau Experian. That's up from 29 million consumers back in 2008.

While a High School diploma has been the basic accreditation expected in a US student’s scholastic record, the Bachelor’s Degree was preferred. Current business leaders are now expecting job-applicants  with a Master Degree to be the new norm. Higher accreditation usually is rewarded with higher income. Now it’s time to get the job. Education is expensive and rising each year.

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US Politicians have been heard urging support for “free Education like other countries do” while critics respond with the knowledge that someone has to pay. “ Scandinavian countries do, why can’t we?”

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Students seeking ‘higher education’ in Norway do have free tuition, but the cost is paid by Norwegian residents in various ways.Norway has a strong economy based largely on natural resources including petroleum exploration and production, fisheries and exports that pay high wages to offset the high cost of living in the current high standard to all workers. Then, after retirement, social benefits are repaid to  residents providing a comfortable future which includes the benefits of free health care, pensions and respectable social status. Jobs are plentiful as Norwegian graduates join the workforce.The cycle continues.

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There is a shortage of skilled workers in Norway, particularly in the wholesale and retail trade and in the building and construction industry. There is also a shortage of nurses and certain types of engineers.The strongest developing areas of business in Norway are currently in the information technology and communications sectors.Norway has a strong economy and a relatively low unemployment rate and the skills shortages mean that if you have some knowledge of Norwegian, your chances of finding a graduate job in Norway are reasonably good.Average yearly salary in Norway is 524,616 NOK or $63,111.00.

    1 NOK = 0.1203 USD

    63,110.78

    US Dollars

    1 USD = 8.3126 NOK

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US students might think “free Education” must mean everyone would graduate with excellent accreditation, but only 40 percent of bachelor students and 43 percent of graduate students in Norway complete their education on time at all levels from bachelor to PhD. 

The University of Bergen is clearly the best of the five largest PhD rewarding Norwegian institutions, with a rate of completion within six years at 77 percent. Students are commenting that their program of studies needs updating. Access to teaching assistants is limited, as well as student feedback and resources.

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Students have been asking for the opportunity to be more involved in the construction of  their academic system. At the present time, after gaining sufficient general knowledge, discontinuing their studies and joining the working force is relatively easy and  profitable.Also, because wages in Norway remain high for blue-collar occupations, there’s less of a financial incentive for some Norwegians to bother with college. They can get jobs more quickly, and earn almost as much money, working as plumbers or electricians.

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Even though tuition is almost completely free, Norwegians whose parents did not go to college are just as unlikely to go themselves much as are Americans whose parents did not pursue higher education.“I don’t think that people understand it’s not about money,” said John Gomperts, the president and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance, a coalition of organizations trying to steer more young people, especially socially and financially disadvantaged ones to and through college.

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“A bachelor’s degree in the U.S. has been seen as a serious option for getting into the middle class, whereas in Norway, everyone is already in the middle class,” stated Curt Rice. Rice has been selected to be the president of Norway’s Oslo and Akershus University this August. There seems to be little resistance for any Norwegian resident, whether ‘high degreed’ or basically required schooled to protest the current ‘free education’ system even though their youngsters will not be ‘free-schooling.

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Americans are taking notice of the Scandinavian educational system, and while the American graduate values the education benefits, graduation time brings a focus on the quick need for a job.

It’s time to pay back those student loans.