Using data from four waves of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016, this study examines the effect of the PGIB on veterans' student loans. Results indicate that the PGIB has significantly affected veteran students' borrowing behavior, with an average $1,100 reduction in Stafford Loans. Veteran students…

The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to higher education, intensifying long-standing systemic inequities in college affordability and access. For many students, the total cost of attendance exceeds what they can afford, even with financial aid. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) provided a crucial financial…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, authorizes programs that provide financial assistance to students to pursue postsecondary education at eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs). In academic year (AY) 2022-2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023), 5,918 domestic institutions had written agreements with the U.S.…

The market-based funding model more commonly known as direct student aid, which was adopted by the federal government during the late 1960s and early 1970s, has created a series of unintended consequences that threaten educational equity and the future of public higher education. The economic and societal impacts of the privatization of US public…

This paper provides an overview of the United States higher education system. It gives readers introductory information about the size, scope and governance model of US higher education. This is a challenging task because higher education in the US is highly decentralized with no single 'system' coordinating all institutions of higher education…

Student Debt and the Class of 2012 is the eighth annual report on the cumulative student loan debt of recent graduates from four-year colleges. The authors' analysis finds that the debt levels of students who graduate with loans continue to rise, with considerable variation among states as well as among colleges. Seven in 10 college seniors who…