This annual report provides details on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the New Mexico Higher Education Department's (NMHED) operations and the impact on New Mexico's students, faculty, and staff. All colleges and universities prepared and followed detailed plans on how they would operate to continue to deliver quality education while keeping…

"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…

A college degree is essential in our society, especially for students who historically have been left out of our higher education system. But with the current higher education information systems in place, it's difficult, if not impossible, for students and families to get the data they need to make an informed decision about the best institution…

This paper examines current part-time mature learners' views on the potential impact upon future students as full fees are introduced from 2012. It investigates the problems which part-time mature learners may face with the advent of student loans and subsequent debt, given that they are usually combining complex lives with their studies, with…

Over the course of the past few decades student loans have become an increasingly common means of paying for a college education. Most students who complete a college program now take on student loans, and the amount of student debt that students assume has increased along with the price of attending college. At this time about 44 million…

This document provides a summary of and recommendations from the larger report, "Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans" (ED580345). Over the course of the past few decades student loans have become an increasingly common means of paying for a college education. Most students who complete a college program now take on student loans, and…

This report shares the perspectives and aspirations of 17 low-income and working-class students based on interviews the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) conducted over two semesters of their college journeys. The report identifies opportunities for policymakers and institutional leaders to support all students through completion,…

The cost of students' loans defaulting has lead to a serious discussion among participants. Substantial attention has been made on the students' loans and its impact on higher education finances while researches on students' loans defaults have not been taken for more than a decade. Therefore this study examines the influence of student loans…

A quality education is the primary instrument of social and economic mobility in the United States. As open-access institutions, community colleges are the gateway to postsecondary education for millions of Americans. Many of these students would be unable to afford college without federal resources, such as student financial aid and tax credits.…

This report, the sixth in this series, brings together again in partnership the Pell Institute with the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy of the University of Pennsylvania (PennAHEAD). These reports draw from multiple sources of existing data to provide, in one place, indicators that describe trends in equity in postsecondary enrollment,…

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. Most student parents are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and…

"A Closer Look at the Trillion: Borrowing, Repayment and Default at Iowa's Community Colleges," takes an unprecedented look at community college student borrowing and repayment behavior. The report uses data from all 16 community colleges in Iowa to examine the characteristics of borrowers and defaulters to help colleges and policymakers…

College graduates and current students are swimming in a sea of debt. As of this writing, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has been estimated at $960 billion. The Occupy Student Debt movement, inspired by Occupy Wall Street, has suggested that all student loan debt should be forgiven. As a starting point, members of the movement…

Some colleges engage in unethical practices to balance their budgets, such as accepting "marginal" students who qualify for loans and government-backed financial aid but not providing these students with the services and programs they need to achieve success. Too many low-income students who are often first-generation students find…

Access and affordability are the main themes of Goal 1 of The Virginia Plan for Higher Education. Progress toward these goals can be measured by a variety of means, but access and affordability serve as foundational guiding principles as the Commonwealth of Virginia crafts its annual and biennial higher-education budgets. Student-loan debt is but…