DeKALB – Kishwaukee College President Tom Choice said higher education dodged a bullet Friday.

Pressed against a July 1 deadline, Congress extended a 3.4 percent interest rate for federally subsidized student loans Friday, saving millions of college students from absorbing the cost of a 6.8 percent interest rate.

Choice said student loans have become a necessity in higher education because of rising costs each year. Even at two-year institutions such as Kishwaukee College, cost containment has become a challenge.