<p>[Alabamians</a> may join other US students in wondering whether college loans are too burdensome | al.com](<a href=“http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2012/05/alabamians_may_join_other_us_s.html]Alabamians”>Alabamians may join other US students in wondering whether college loans are too burdensome - al.com)</p>
<p>part of the article…</p>
<p>BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Across Alabama this month, college students have crossed the stage to receive their diplomas, ending years-long odysseys of study to reach a peak of achievement in education. </p>
<p>But for many, that ending is also the beginning of another climb, as they face a pile of debt in accumulated student loans. </p>
<p>U.S. college seniors who graduated in 2010 carried an average of $25,250 in student loan debt, the latest data available from the Project on Student Debt. In Alabama, that number was $24,821, ranking the state No. 14 in the nation. </p>
<p>Often described as a necessary evil to deal with the rising cost of college tuition, student loans have been thrust into the national spotlight in recent months as Congress debates legislation to keep their interest rates low. </p>
<p>In theory, the concept of student loans works beautifully as a benefit to the U.S. economy, said John Norris, managing director at Birmingham’s Oakworth Capital Bank. </p>
<p>“You borrow some money and get skills and training that are worth more to the economy than what you borrowed,” he said. </p>
<p>But these days, college students face the double whammy of a weak job market and looming debt, forcing many to make short-term job decisions based on the need to pay back loans. </p>
<p>“They’re getting a job in a restaurant or a bar, and the longer they’re without a career-type job, their overall marketability to an employer diminishes,” he said. </p>
<p>The question then is whether those loans are actually helping them become more productive in the long run or just putting them further behind on their path to becoming the country’s future wealth generators, Norris said. </p>
<p>“Are we getting the skills and productivity to offset this huge mountain of debt?” he said. </p>
<p>More than half of Alabama’s college students, 56 percent, graduated with debt in 2010, according to the Project on Student Debt, an initiative of the nonprofit research and policy group, the Institute for College Access and Success. </p>
<p>Among the state’s public and private institutions that report their loan data, graduates of Alabama A&M University in Huntsville had the highest average debt in 2010: $31,863. That year, 78 percent of the university’s students graduated with debt. </p>
<p>At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 60 percent of students graduated with debt in 2010, with an average debt of $24,936. </p>
<p>There were similar numbers elsewhere. At Auburn University’s main campus, 46 percent of students graduated with debt, an average of $23,491; at the University of Alabama, the portion of students with debt was 53 percent, with an average of $26,701. </p>
<p>About half of public and private nonprofit institutions in the U.S. report their loan data, while virtually no for-profit institutions report it.</p>