Given the skyrocketing costs of higher education, some borrowers -- particularly those with low incomes and those who were scammed by for-profit colleges -- genuinely need assistance. But portraying student loan forgiveness as a working-class issue is highly misleading. In fact, data on student borrowing shows that debt relief benefits few…

Community colleges serve more than a significant proportion of Americans who could not otherwise attend colleges by providing access to fulfill their educational goals. Many of the students enrolled in the institutions look to the federal government to finance their educational expenses by obtaining federally guaranteed student loans. The…

About seven million undergraduates each year rely on federal loans to enroll in and complete college Many students find that student loans are an excellent investment in their future and are able to successfully repay their loans. Others struggle to make payments, or make payments that do not keep up with accruing interest. This factsheet focuses…

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 $…

The federal student aid system has emerged as the primary source of funding for students pursuing a wide range of subbaccalaureate credentials. But the eligibility rules for federal student aid, offered under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, require a minimum program length of 600 hours for Pell grants, despite little evidence showing that…

About seven million undergraduates annually rely on federal loans to enroll in and complete college. While many successfully repay their loans, some struggle to stay on top of their payments and end up defaulting after 270 or more days of non-payment. Defaulting on a loan has several serious consequences, including adding significantly to the cost…

The State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas (SOSA) annual report from Trellis Research provides information helpful in informing policy and programs for higher education student financial aid. The report serves as a reference for colleges, universities, and policymakers, and provides a comparison of Texas state and federal student aid…

Objective: The purpose of our study was to identify the factors associated with federal loan default among a nationally-representative sample of community college students. The guiding research question was: For community college students who borrow federal loans, to what extent do demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics relate to…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Committee on Education and Labor that was held to discuss the cost of college as well as student-centered reforms to bring higher education within reach. Member statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Robert C. Scott, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor; and (2) Honorable…

The State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas (SOSA) annual report from Trellis Research provides information helpful in informing policy and programs for higher education student financial aid. The report serves as a reference for colleges, universities, and policymakers, and provides a comparison of Texas state and federal student aid…

For the institution and its regional campuses under review, the amount of outstanding student liabilities (i.e., monies owed by the student to the institution for educational-related expenditures not satisfied by the end of the term) grew at an alarming rate between 2000 and 2014, with some of the institution's regional campuses experiencing over…

Today education and training beyond high school are more essential to our success as individuals and as a nation than ever before. Americans have responded to these new realities, and education beyond high school is now the norm in the US. These trends make the federal Higher Education Act (HEA), which governs federal student aid programs and…

The "State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas" ("SOSA") annual report from Trellis Research provides information helpful in informing policy and programs for higher education student financial aid. The report serves as a reference for colleges, universities, and policymakers, and provides a comparison of Texas state…

Although default rates have decreased in recent years, community colleges still struggle to keep their rates in check: 18.5 percent of borrowers from public two-year colleges default within three years compared to the national average rate of 11.3 percent. In 2015, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) published "A Closer Look…

The State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas (SOSA) annual report from Trellis Research provides information helpful in informing policy and programs for higher education student financial aid. The report serves as a reference for colleges, universities, and policymakers, and provides a comparison of Texas state and federal student aid…