IntroductionThe current student loan issue is a complex crisis with multiple culprits and victims. First, academic institutions themselves cannot deny their responsibility for instigating the crisis. For example, when was the last time, at least in the last few years, anyone heard of a university actually lowering tuition? In reality, year after year, the tendency of universities has been to increase fees. In fact, according to NPR's Larry Abramson, “tuition and other costs have risen faster than inflation, and family incomes are failing to keep pace” (2012). Despite the outrage over this issue, there is also little indication that these costs will decrease any time in the foreseeable future. Universities justify increasing tuition in order to improve their academic standards, expand library collections, or create more computer labs. However, students struggle to justify their frivolous spending of money on non-academic projects such as extravagant leisure centers or sprucing up student unions by subsequently raising student fees to pay for the costs incurred. Furthermore, academic institutions are not socially responsible as they frame college freshmen for financial failure by allowing credit card companies to scrutinize borrowers on campuses. Credit card companies entice students to sign up for their credit program with the use of free pizza or t-shirts for exchange by putting their personal credit on the line. While it is up to the student to read the fine print of the terms and conditions, many students do not understand the repercussions of credit card debt. On a related note, banks are also part of the problem. As a result of stagnant incomes... middle of paper......answer: It's not interest rates... it's tag prices. Retrieved from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/04/26/news-flash-to-obama-on-student-loans-it-is-not-the-interest- tariffs-is-the-price-of-the-sticker/Reuters. (2012, June 28). Chicago Tribune: Business. No more grace periods on student loan interest. Retrieved August 20, 2012. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-28/business/chi-no-more-grace-period-on-student-loans-20120628_1_federal-loans-student-debt-burden- Saddle-studentsTkacik, Maureen (2012) “Column: The student loan crisis you can't shake” Reuters. Retrieved August 15, 2012. www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/15/us-student-loan-crisis-idUSBRE87E13L20120815U.S. Department of Education (2010). National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 30, 2012. http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76.