Completing higher education after high school continues to be the most reliable way for Americans to expand their economic opportunity. Students gain skills that not only let them achieve a secure economic future, but also allow them to experience fulfilling professional opportunities. For many students and families, this means taking on debt to…

Student debt is a convenient target in a presidential election year, but it obscures the true crisis: high dropout rates from low-quality postsecondary institutions and the unmanageable debt borne by students of those institutions. And despite rising student debt, monthly loan payments as a share of income have remained steady, added earnings…

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has had concerns about student debt for decades. Her recent solution seeks to redistribute tax revenue from the richest Americans to enable students to refinance their postgraduation indebtedness; this would allow students to benefit from the low interest rates in today's financial markets. The Massachusetts…

American students graduate from college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, leading to substantial repayment burdens and potentially inefficient shifts in spending patterns and career choices. A political trend towards austerity coupled with the rising student debt make the effective allocation of federal higher education resources and…

As of May 2013, total outstanding student loan debt in the United States had reached $1.2 trillion, up from $1 trillion fewer than 18 months before. The growth in debt is due primarily to increases in both the rate of borrowing and the average amount borrowed, especially among graduates of 4-year institutions. In 1989-90, about half (51 percent)…

This quantitative correlational non-experimental study examines some major implications of student loan debt that Hispanics face upon graduation from institutions of higher learning. It provides both descriptive and correlational statistics to help view how Hispanics differ from non-Hispanics graduate students in their plight to live the American…

The "60x30TX" higher education plan for Texas began in 2015 with four goals to be achieved by 2030: (1) 60x30 Educated Population: At least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree; (2) Completion: At least 550,000 students in 2030 will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor's or master's from an institution…

In the United States, attending a selective liberal arts college is often a sign of success. Human capital theory assumes graduates from these colleges share similar outcomes, in terms of employment and further education. This article reports, findings from a national (US) survey of liberal arts college students who graduated between 2012 and…

Student Debt and the Class of 2016 is the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS') twelfth annual report on the student loan debt of recent graduates from four-year colleges, documenting the rise in student loan debt and variation among states as well as colleges. State averages for debt at graduation ranged from a low of $20,000 (Utah)…

In recent years, concerns have emerged both about declines in entrepreneurial activity, and about increases in the amount students borrow to finance postsecondary education--in the aggregate as well as on average. Because the financial obligations associated with student debt could limit access to credit for individuals seeking to start…

The moment they earn their bachelor's degrees, black college graduates owe $7,400 more on average than their white peers ($23,400 versus $16,000, including non-borrowers in the averages). But over the next few years, the black-white debt gap more than triples to a whopping $25,000. Differences in interest accrual and graduate school borrowing lead…

This study compares tuition funding arrangements, debt at graduation, and earnings outcomes for full-time domestic undergraduates in eight Anglophone countries: the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland), United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to multiple estimates, the average English student faces…

Student loans can be a good investment in an individual's future, providing financial access to higher education and improved chances of economic success after college. However, avoiding undue financial obligations and maximizing the return on investment require careful planning and prudent borrowing. Estimating whether the student loan debt…

"Minnesota Measures" provides a resource of accurate, timely, and comprehensive facts about higher education in Minnesota. It includes comparisons over time as well as national and peer institution comparisons. Obtaining a postsecondary credential increases economic opportunity, promotes income equality, and prepares the state to meet…

This is an update to the report "Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans." Americans today carry $1.54 trillion in student loan debt. That number has more than doubled over the last decade--increasing at nearly six times the rate of inflation. Women are particularly burdened, holding nearly two-thirds of all outstanding loans--around…