This is the technical documentation for the report, "How the College Cost Reduction Act Could Threaten the Teacher Pipeline." The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a…

Over the last three decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with almost $1.4 trillion in outstanding federal student loans. The Direct Loan program provides financial assistance to students and their parents to help pay for postsecondary education. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review changes…

College affordability is a significant factor in student access, retention, and completion. Tuition and fee rates are a component of affordability, as is the availability of financial aid programs from federal, state, institutional and private sources, among other factors. Strategically designed approaches to college affordability can better…

College tuition and fee rates have risen dramatically over the last twenty years. Grant aid dollars, however, have increased at a slower rate, especially at public four-year institutions, which were twice as expensive in AY2018-19 compared to AY1998-1999 (Ma, Baum, Pender & Libassi, 2018). How do students pay for college when grant aid is not…

Focus groups were conducted to explore prospective students' perceptions of tuition fees, maintenance loans and how these impact their decision to engage with higher education. Views on rebranding of the term 'tuition fees' to 'student/graduate contributions/tax' and the introduction of differential fees for different courses were explored.…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development of the Committee on Education and the Workforce that was held to examine lowering costs and increasing value for students, institutions, and taxpayers. Opening statements were provided by: (1) Honorable Burgess Owens, Chairman,…

The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the Higher Education Act, making changes to student borrowing and repayment, borrower protections, college oversight, postsecondary data, and more. The bill includes a new proposed risk-sharing model that would require colleges to repay the federal government for a calculated proportion of their…

Queer people continue to feel the effects of queer oppression in higher education and beyond, including unique financial challenges. The price of being queer is troubling in a world ordered around capitalism and heteronormative privilege. The purpose of this paper is to examine the financial landscape for queer students and call for a robust…

A collaboration between The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC), this policy brief examines the costs of attending California Community Colleges (CCCs) for low-income students and the roles that financial aid resources, work hours, and student loan borrowing currently…

Student debt levels were already pronounced before the pandemic hit, with $91.1 billion in annual federal student lending in 2019-20, up from $20.7 billion in 1990-91. Over that same period, per-student borrowing rose from $2,110 to $6,276, after adjusting for inflation. Evidence available as of Nov. 20, 2021, suggests that the COVID-19 downturn…

In both the stacks of research compiled by education think tanks and in the conversations had around the dining room table by families of aspiring college students, one stumbling block to college enrollment predictably crops up--financial aid. The topics range from avoiding endless, crushing debt to options for part-time jobs. But often the focus…

Financial aid has helped millions of students pay for their education beyond high school. This document provides information about federal and Minnesota financial aid programs, including the following sections: (1) How do I apply for financial aid?; (2) Five basic steps to apply for financial aid; (3) What types of financial aid are available?;…

The Cal State Student Association (CSSA) and The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) examine trends in college affordability for California State University (CSU) bachelor's degree recipients compared to its original analysis published six years ago. This new report finds that in 2021-2022, nearly two in three CSU bachelor's degree…

This mixed-methods study investigates the real and perceived barriers that African American male Edgecombe County high school students face when considering college enrollment to inform potential interventions to improve college enrollment of this market segment. Phase I of the study design included a survey of current, African American, male…

At the end of 2019, 43 million Americans owed over $1.5 trillion in federal student loans. The rapid increase in these balances over the past decade has led many to deem student debt a "crisis." Now, there is growing support among Democratic policymakers, and even some Republicans, to immediately cancel all or most of the federal…