Up for bid: 1 Purdue Diploma for $36K to Help Pay Student Loans

By ERIC WEDDLE
May 27, 2010

UPDATE: Purdue diploma removed from eBay

The sale of a Purdue University diploma on eBay was halted today.

The Internet auction site removed Nick Enlow's 2008 bachelor's degree in psychology because it violated its terms of use.

According an e-mail Enlow received from eBay, diplomas can not be listed for sale due to the sensitivity and nature of the item.

Enlow started the bidding on the diploma this week at $36,000 in an oddball attempt to pay off his student loans and also to strike up a conversation about debt and the worth of a college education.

The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis graduate said his degree did not help him get a job that paid enough to cover his $470 monthly loan bill to Sallie Mae.

But the attempted sale prompted Sallie Mae to call Enlow Wednesday and discuss payment options.

Enlow said he would not contest eBay's decision.

"The dialogue has been started," he said. "What's done is done."

Editor's note: The following story appeared earlier today at jconline.com

Up for bid: 1 diploma for $36K
A Purdue University diploma can be yours for $36,000 -- plus shipping and handling.

But this bachelor's degree in psychology won't have your name inscribed on it. Instead, it will be Nick Enlow's.

The 2008 Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis graduate is trying to hawk his diploma on eBay this week in hopes of paying off a student loan debt -- and as a warning to would-be college students.

Check out the eBay listing for the diploma.

"Going to college made my life worse," Enlow said Wednesday from near Jacksonville, Fla., where he lives. "That is something that I don't keep to myself. I tell everyone."

His line of thinking isn't the kind that Purdue officials find amusing, nor are they too keen on the auction itself.

But Enlow, 29, said he considers himself stuck in indentured servitude to Sallie Mae, his lender, because he is unable to get a decent-paying job with his current degrees to start paying a $470 monthly student loan bill. In addition to the Purdue diploma, he obtained a philosophy degree from IU through IUPUI. That one is not for sale.

The eBay sale is part stunt and part hopeful act of desperation that an "eccentric millionaire" will pick up the tab. Either way, the Indianapolis native is serious about kick-starting conversations on the worth of a college education and how it can be paid off.

"The universities are handing out too many degrees that have zero real-world application," Enlow said. "It seems to me, almost any major in the humanities or liberal arts will not gain you employment with a bachelor's degree."

Enlow admits to not having a clear post-college career path. During school he fell in love with learning -- reading classics and learning history -- and he assumed that after earning a diploma a job would come easily.

"I think that some of us still believe that when we walk across the stage and get that diploma that we are going to have some type of social status and businesses are going to look at us differently," he said. "But that is not true."

Purdue officials somewhat agree with Enlow, but they emphasize that skills learned can help lead to success.

"A degree in the liberal arts is not an automatic ticket to a job, but then again, no degree is," said Irwin Weiser, interim dean of Purdue's College of Liberal Arts.

"However, studying any of the disciplines in the arts, humanities, or social sciences prepares students to be successful because they learn to think creatively, critically and ethically, and to communicate what they think effectively."

Purdue officials also noted that Enlow's degree was issued by Purdue's School of Science at IUPUI, not the College of Liberal Arts on the West Lafayette campus. Purdue's department of psychology will become part of the new College of Health and Human Sciences in July.

Enlow is unsure how he will pay off his debt. The $36,000 is considerably above the national average. Enlow said he would like the government to offer more opportunities for graduates to work in communities as a way to pay off higher education loans.

"I always expected that number," he said.

"The number itself does not surprise me. The inability for me to pay it off is surprising."

A report last year from Project on Student Debt found average debt levels for 2008 graduating seniors with student loans rose to $23,200 -- a 24 percent increase from $18,650 in 2004. Those who graduated from IUPUI in 2008 with student loans had an average balance of $25,253.

Edie Irons, a communication director with the organization, said students should begin planning for their future debt while in high school and through college. That includes figuring out how much they will need to borrow and whether that amount will be feasible to pay off with their job expectations.

If graduates can't pay the monthly amount, Irons said, they should research options such as deferment, forbearance or income-based payments before talking to their lender.

Enlow is working as a substitute teacher and living with his fiancé, who is working for Teach America. He is considering how to transition into a full-time teacher and how he would talk to students about college.

"My idealism is crushed," he said.

The eBay auction ends Saturday. Bids for the used "authentic" diploma start at $36,000, plus $3.50 shipping.

http://www.jconline.com/article/20100527/NEWS0501/5270341/Up-for-bid-1-diploma-for-36K