This report looks at the education and work outcomes of a national sample of bachelor's degree recipients four years after they earned their degrees. The findings are based on data from the 2016/20 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/20). B&B:16/20, which took place in 2020, is the second follow-up in a national study of…

Student loans are like a dark cloud looming above 41 million Americans (Perna, Kvall, & Ruiz, 2017). Through young adults' personal accounts and relevant literature, we aimed to explore how student debt has altered the lives of college graduates and what can be done to educate students before they graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in…

College has become a risky proposition for students as well as taxpayers. Fewer than six in 10 students who start a degree will ever finish, which means that they won't see a return on the money they've spent to attend--and if they took out a loan from the federal government, they might be left with unaffordable debt. In the latter case, the…

For many students, the burden of student debt lingers years after leaving college, dragging down their finances and household security. New federal data find that, 12 years after enrollment, students with debt still owed, on average, two-thirds of what they had borrowed -- and as many as 27 percent had defaulted. Colleges, however, face no…

The Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) series of data collections allows researchers to address questions regarding bachelor's degree recipients' undergraduate experiences, including their participation in various financial aid programs, student loan debt and repayment of that debt; entrance into and progress through postbaccalaureate education;…

In a year that has upended higher education and created great uncertainty, it is more important than ever for students to understand which colleges payoff and how quickly. In April of 2020, Third Way released a report outlining the use of a Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP) to evaluate the value of attending college and help students assess and…

Although the literature offers evidence of students' aversion to borrowing for postsecondary education, it offers no insight into whether such attitudes are mutable. Through a blocked, cluster-randomized controlled trial in six diverse high schools in Louisville, Kentucky, we test whether providing student loan and repayment information affects…

"Student Debt and the Class of 2018" is the fourteenth annual report produced by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) on the student loan debt of recent graduates from four-year colleges, documenting the changes in student loan debt and variation among states as well as colleges. This report includes federal policy…

Observers from across the ideological spectrum argue that the US is in the midst of a student debt crisis. This report takes an approach to understanding who holds student debt by examining borrowers' characteristics when the loans were originated. To help fill a void in the research, this analysis focuses on borrowing patterns among students who…

Completing additional education after high school has nearly become a prerequisite for a stable career and middle-class income. Yet the total cost of higher education continues to climb, increasing 31 percent at public institutions and 24 percent at private nonprofit institutions in ten years. Consequently, student loans will remain a reality for…

The widespread notion of a general student debt "crisis" creates an exaggerated image of the problems associated with borrowing for college and diverts attention from the serious difficulties some students and former students face. A disproportionate amount of attention goes to the $1.5 trillion dollars in outstanding student debt.…

What do state policies say about how to fund postsecondary education? This 50-State Comparison answers this question by searching state statutes, state rules and regulations, enacted state budget bills, and state postsecondary education agency policies that address postsecondary education budgeting and funding. According to the content of the…

Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducted original research on an often-overlooked group of students--parents with children--as they struggle to make ends meet while pursuing academic degrees and certificates. Student parents often face enormous financial barriers to academic success. They report high financial insecurity including…

The 2021 PACE/USC Rossier poll provides key insights into Californians' perceptions of higher education issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically equity and affordability. A large percentage of Californians acknowledge that college affordability is an important educational issue, and they generally express support for increased access to…

As Washington prepares to welcome a new Congress in January 2023, incoming policymakers who want to improve education for every student and give parents more control over where and how their children are educated have many policy options at their disposal. New Members of Congress who want to protect taxpayers and rein in college costs also have…