Today, costs loom large in public discussions about the problems in higher education. That's no wonder. Tuition at four-year private colleges has grown at an average annual rate of 2.3% above inflation over the past 10 years. Four-year public and two-year institutions have seen similar trends, with tuition growing at an annual rate of 3.1% and…

This report and the accompanying interactive web tool are a first step toward helping students sort through the 37,000 programs in the College Scorecard data to learn which programs offer a pathway to good earnings and which threaten more debt. Part 1 examines earnings differences across different institutions. Just as there is overlap in…

Differences by race and ethnicity exist in student borrowing trends, as decades of research and statistics on debt, repayment, and default rates have well established. Students who are Black, Hispanic or Latino, and Native American tend to have higher unmet financial need, incur more debt, and struggle financially to stay in school. Yet, even as…

This summary report presents selected findings from the full report which describes the experiences of 2015-16 bachelor's degree earners during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 4 years after graduation. The findings in this report are based on data from the 2016/20 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/20), which took place…

Geography is an important part of economic opportunity. This is increasingly true in the labor market for skilled workers. Due to monetary and nonmonetary costs of migration, college attendance is less likely for those who live farther from postsecondary institutions. The college educated have also become increasingly concentrated in larger labor…

Nearly 43 million college student borrowers across the United States owe more than $1.56 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The number of student borrowers in the country has increased by 1.3 million, or 3.1 percent, over the past five years, while the amount of outstanding student debt in the country has increased by a whopping $…

This brief uses administrative data provided on the Baccalaureate and Beyond and Beginning Postsecondary Students data sets to examine student loan repayment over time. Specifically, we provide descriptive details on what differentiates borrowers in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and explore the relationship between these plans and short-term…

This brief examines the impact of using a system based on multiple metrics that requires institutions to pass three out of four thresholds for student loan default, student loan repayment, program completion, and postcollege earnings. Currently, a very high loan default rate is the only student outcome that disqualifies institutions from the…

This First Look presents selected findings on the work and life experiences of recent bachelor's degree earners before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings in this report are based on data from the 2016/20 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/20), which took place in 2020. B&B:16/20 is the second follow-up in a…

Given the facts that women still earn significantly less than men, that most American students rely on loans to attend college, that tuition in higher education has increased, and that women have to take more students loans than men, can we still claim that we are closing the gender gap? Do females have more burdens to pay off their student loans…

These Web Tables focus on the experiences of 2015-16 bachelor's degree recipients 1 year after completing their degree. The data are from the 2016/17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/17), a nationally representative, longitudinal sample survey of students who earned a bachelor's degree during the 2015-16 academic year.…

The English tuition fee system is designed to be progressive and to ensure that higher education is well funded. As the Government considers how it could be improved, many former detractors are recognising we could do far worse and fear change. This paper proposes a solution comprising three interdependent policy changes without a significant…

Student loans can help fill cost gaps created by insufficient grants, scholarships, and family income in funding a postsecondary education. Whereas receipt of grant aid does not require repayment, student loans must be repaid with interest. Loans provide students with additional choices, such as living independently (instead of living with parents…

Differences by race and ethnicity exist in student borrowing trends. Statistics about debt loads, repayment trends, default rates, and forgiveness opportunities routinely appear in research papers, policy briefs, talking points, and news reports. But real progress over time depends on setting up the right conversation and narrative. So far, too…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…