1、collegeaccess&succeuStudentDebt14th Aonual Report September 2019TheInstituteforCollegeAccess&Successisatrustedsourceofresearch,design,andadvocacy for student-centered public policies that promote affordability, accountability, and equity inhigher education.learnmoreaboutTICAS,andfollowusonatTICAS_or

2、g.Student Debt and the Class of 2018, our fourteenth annual report on debt at graduation, was researchedandwrittenbyTICASGonzalez,LindsayAhlman,andAnaFung.Specialthanks totheentireTICASstaff,virtuallyallofwhomcontributedtothedevelopmentandrelease. All of the college- and state-level debt data used f

3、or the report are available online at HYPERLINK /interactive-map/ /interactive-map/. The data are also available with additional information on more 12,000U.S.collegesat HYPERLINK http:/College-I/ College-I,TICAShighereducationdatasite.aregratefultoourfoundationpartnersandindividualdonorswhosesuppor

4、tmakesTICASwork possible.CurrentfoundationfundingforourProjectonStudentDebtandothernationalresearch and policy work comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and Lumina Foundation. The views expressedinthispa

5、peraresolelythoseofTICASanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsofour funders.Thisreportcanbereproduced,withattribution,withinthetermsofthisCreativeCommonslicense: /licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. HYPERLINK l _TOC_250011 Overview andFindings4 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250010 About This Report and the DataUsed56 HYPERLINK

6、l _TOC_250009 NationalinStudentDebtforCollegeGraduates:StateFunding and OtherFactors6Figure1:AverageDebtofGraduatingSeniorswhoBorrowed6Figure2:ChangesinPer-StudentStateSupportandBorrowingatPublicColleges7HowSuccessfullyareDegreeRecipientsRepayingtheirLoans?9 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250008 Student DebtState

7、101: High-Debt States102:Low-DebtStates10113:PercentageofGraduateswithDebtandAverageDebtofThose with Loans, byState11 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250007 Student DebtatColleges13Student Debt atFor-ProfitColleges14 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250006 Data on DebtatGraduation154:ComparisonofAvailableAnnualDataonDebtatGraduat

8、ion16 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250005 Private(Nonfederal)Loans17 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250004 What Colleges and StatesCanDo18 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250003 InstitutionalPolicyIdeasforReducingDebtBurdens18 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250002 State Policy Ideas for ReducingDebtBurdens19 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250001 Federal Policy Recomm

9、endations to Reduce the Burden of Student Debt21 HYPERLINK l _TOC_250000 Methodology:WheretheNumbersComeFromandHowUseThem26Overview and Key Findingsabout two in three (65%) ingseniorshadstudent loans. Their average debt was a 2% increase from the Class ofStudentDebtandtheClassof2018isTICASfourteenth

10、annualreportonthestudent loan debt of recent graduates from four-year colleges, documenting changes and variationinstudentdebtacrossstatesandcolleges.Unlessotherwisenoted,thein this report are only for public and nonprofit colleges because virtually no for-profit colleges report what their graduates

11、owe.Nationally, about two in three (65%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2018 had student loan debt, the same share as the Class of 2017. Borrowers from the Class of 2018 owed an average of $29,200, a 2 percent increase from the average of $28,650 in 2017.

12、State averages for debt at graduation ranged from $19,750 (Utah) to $38,650 (Connecticut), and new graduates likelihood of having debt varied from 36 percent (Utah) to 76 percent (New Hampshire). In 21 states, average debt was more than$30,000. Many of the same states appear at the high and low ends

13、 of the spectrum as in previous years. High-debt states remain concentrated in the Northeast and low-debt states are mainly in the West. See page 11 for a complete state-by-state table. At the college level, average debt at graduation covers an enormous range, from $2,500 to$61,600.About 17 percent

14、of the Class of 2018s debt nationally was comprised of nonfederal loans, which provide fewer consumer protections and repayment options and are typically more costly than federal loans. While there is broad consensus that students should exhaust federal loan eligibility before turning to other types

15、 of loans, recent federal data show that more than half of undergraduates who take out private loans have not used the maximum available in federal student loans.The slowed growth in student debt for more recent college graduates is encouraging news. Increases in state spending and grant aid are bot

16、h likely contributing factors. years in which falling state funding was a driver of greater student debt, this progress shows the value of investments in higher education. However, more research is needed to better understand these and other factors contributing to the slower growth, as well as whet

17、her they are likely to continue.Moreover, college affordability continues to be an urgent concern. There remains a pressing need for federal and state policymakers to address the challenges of costs that exceed the ability of students and families to pay and the burdensome debt that can result. Afte

18、r considering grants and scholarships, undergraduates at four-year colleges still must pay almost $11,000 even after grant aid, with $6,600 still left to be covered after taking all loans into account. And while bachelors degree recipients are typically better positioned than other students to repay

19、 their loans, too many still struggle with their debt, and certain groups of graduates including Black, low-income, and first- generation graduates and graduates from for-profit colleges are more likely to default on their loans. Steps to ensure college is affordable are also needed to address the b

20、urdens of students who are left with debt but no degree.Page4Student Debt and the Class of 2018About this Report and the Data We UsedColleges are not required to report debt levels for their graduates, and the available college-levelfederaldatadonotincludeprivateloans.Toestimatestateaverages,we used

21、themostrecentavailablefigures,whichwereprovidedvoluntarilybyabouthalf ofallpublicandnonprofitbachelorsdegree-grantingfour-yearcollegesandrepresent over 70 percent of graduates.1 The limitations of relying on voluntarily reported data underscore the need for federal collection of cumulative student d

22、ebt data for all schools.Formoreaboutcurrentlyavailabledebtdata,seepage16.This report includes federal policy recommendations to reduce debt burdens, including the collection of more comprehensive college-level data. Other recommendations focus on reducing the need to borrow, keeping loan payments m

23、anageable, improving consumer information, strengthening college accountability, and protecting private borrowers. For more about these federal policy recommendations, see page 21. To learn more about what states and colleges can do, see page 18.A companion interactive map with details for all 50 st

24、ates and the District of Columbia isavailable at /interactive-map/ HYPERLINK /posd/map-state-data .The Institute for College Access&SuccessPage5NationalinStudentDebtforCollegeGraduates:StateFundingandOtherFactorsWhile this report focuses primarily on the data available for 2018 graduates, the best a

25、vailable data source for student debt trends is a nationally representative study conducted by the federal government every four years, most recently in 2016. (For more on debt data sources, see the Methodology section.)Between 1996 and 2012, federal data on bachelors degree recipients show that the

26、average debt of borrowers increased steadily, at an average of 4 percent per year.2Between 2012 and 2016, that growth slowed substantially. College-reported data suggestthattheslowdownindebtlevelsforcollegegraduateshascontinued2016,withreporteddebtlevelsforpublicandprivatenonprofitcollegegraduatesin

27、 2018just2percenthigherthanthe2017average(incurrentdollars).Average Debt of Graduating Seniors who Borrowed (Current Dollars, All 4-Year Colleges)Several trends in higher education offer helpful context for both the growth in student debt loads as well as the slowdown in borrowing among more recent

28、graduates.Over three-quarters of undergraduates attend public institutions. For these students, one important factor in higher borrowing has been years of state budget cuts, which have led to higher college costs.State support for public colleges and universities has declined over time and fell shar

29、ply during the Great Recession, when rising enrollments further stretched limited state dollars. On a per-student basis, state spending fell by 24 percent between 2008 and 2012.3Collegesraisedtuitiontomakeupsomeoftherevenuelostfromstatebudgetcuts.In 2008,36percentofper-studentfundingcamefromtuition,

30、andby2012,thatsharegrown to 47percent.4A number of factors influence the growth in annual borrowing, including policy changesand changing compositions of colleges and students. Further, while cumulative debt at graduation is a key metric for tracking debt burdens across comparable populationsPage6St

31、udent Debt and the Class of 2018over time, it is not possible to directly link state disinvestment and cumulative debt at graduation because the latter is also influenced by where and how available state and institutional resources are spent, across colleges and within them.Nonetheless, annual borro

32、wing and per-student state support data clearly show that per- student federal loan borrowing increased by over a third in years when state support decreasedsignificantly. Between 2008 and 2012, when schools were relying more heavily on tuition, students began relying more heavily on student loans t

33、o help cover increased costs. Between 2008 and 2012, state and local appropriations per student fell by over $2,000, while the loans borrowedby an average student (including those not borrowing) rose by nearly $1,100 per student, from$3,000 in 2008 to $4,100 in 2012.5Changes in Per-Student State Sup

34、port and Borrowing at Public CollegesBy 2016, state spending on higher education stabilized and partially rebounded from Great Recession lows, increasing by 18 percent (or about $1,150 per student) over 2012 levels.6 These increases likely helped slow growth in tuition at public colleges during peri

35、od, and per-student borrowing decreased by about $500 between 2012 and 2016.7 At the same time, colleges continued to rely heavily on tuition. The share of per-student funding coming from tuition remained at 47 percent across all public colleges in 2016, and over 60 percent at bachelors degree grant

36、ing institutions.Moreover, college funding has still not recovered from the Great Recession. Per-student state funding in 28 states was at least $1,000 lower in 2016 than in 2008.8 Nationally, per-student federal loan borrowing was $600 higher.9 More recently, per-student funding has remained level

37、but still below pre-Recession levels.10Beyond changes in state support, there are other factors that likely contributed tothe slowdown in student debt levels among more recent college graduates in public colleges and beyond. Federal data show that undergraduates who attended public and nonprofit fou

38、r-year colleges in 2015-16 were more likely to receive institutional grants than students in 2011-12 (38% vs. 31%) and received $1,000 more on average.11 At private nonprofit colleges, more institutional funds were spent on financial aid, softening the impact of rising sticker prices. For every $100

39、 in gross tuition and fees revenue they received, private nonprofit colleges were spending $4 more on financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and fellowships in 2015-16 than they were in 2011-12.12 More recent data suggest these trends in have continued beyond 2016.13The Institute for Col

40、lege Access&SuccessPage7Modest yet steady investments in the federal Pell Grant during this period also helped the grant keep pace with inflation and prevent an even more significant erosion of purchasing power. However, in 2015-16, the maximum grant still only covered 30 percent of college costs.14

41、 It covered just 28 percent in 2018.Additionally, there were other borrowing trends during this time period that are worth consideration. The data in this report do not include loan amounts that parents have borrowed to help their children pay for college, but federal data show notable changes in pa

42、rent borrowing for bachelors degree recipients. Overall, the average parent loan increased between 2012 and 2016, though the share of parents borrowing loans has decreased.15 Similarly, federal data show that the average private loan increased, while the share of graduates with private loan debt dec

43、lined.16 Some have suggested that growth in parent debt relates to students hitting their federal loan limits.17 However,itishardtoknowwithavailabledatahowmuchofafactorthisis.Itisalsopossible thatfederalloanlimitsplayedaroleintheincreaseininstitutionalgrantaiddiscussed above, as colleges sought ways

44、 to support students in lieu of turning to additionalloans.Moreanalysisisneededtounderstandeachofthesetrends,their causes,whoisaffected,andhowtheyrelatetostudentdebtburdens.While the slowdown in the growth of student debt for recent bachelors degree recipients is a welcome trend, the current, persis

45、tent burden of student debt remains a pressing concern, and students struggles to afford college remain serious. After considering grants and scholarships, undergraduates at four-year colleges still had almost $11,000 of unmet need in 2015-16, with $6,600 still left uncovered after all loans into ac

46、count.18 As discussed above, tuition still makes up a higher share of revenue at public colleges than before the recession, and state investment in higher education remains below pre-recession levels.19 Inequities in debt burden also persist, with lower income students, and Black students in particu

47、lar, more likely to have debt graduation and have more of it to repay.20 And while bachelors degree recipients are typically better positioned than other students to repay their loans, certain groups of bachelors degree recipients still struggle with their debt (see box to the right).More must be do

48、ne to reduce the burden of student loan debt, and ensure that vulnerablegroupsofstudentsnolongerdisproportionatelycarrythatburden.Additional investmentsfromstatesandthefederalgovernment,well-targetedtostudentswith financial need, are needed to reduce students need to A federal-state partnership coul

49、d inject new resources and mitigate the impact of recessions on college tuition and student loan debt. Substantial increases in the Pell Grant, as well permanent restoration of the prior automatic inflation adjustment also remain critical priorities. For more on how to reduce student debt burdens, s

50、ee our federal policy recommendations on pages 21-25.Page8Student Debt and the Class of 2018HOW SUCCESSFULLY ARE BACHELORS DEGREE RECIPIENTS REPAYING THEIR LOANS?HOW SUCCESSFULLY ARE BACHELORS DEGREE RECIPIENTS REPAYING THEIR LOANS?This report focuses on debt loads of students who earned a degree, a

51、llowing for fair comparisonsoftheamountofdebtneededacrossstatesandcollegestoobtainasimilarcredential. thesestudentsaretypicallybetterpositionedthanotherstorepaytheirdebt,asadegreegenerallyholdslabormarketvaluethatfacilitatesstudentloanrepayment.*Nationally,only5 percentofdegreerecipientswhoenteredco

52、llegein2003-04haddefaultedontheirfederal student loans within 12 years of entering college, compared to 12 percent of degree recipients,29percentofcertificatecompleters,and23percentofnoncompleters.*While student loans prove to be a good investment for most college graduates, certain groups of bachel

53、ors degree recipients still struggle with their debt. Black bachelors degree recipients, those who received Pell Grants, those who were the first in their family to attend college, and those who attended for-profit colleges were more likely to default on their loans.More than one in five (21%) Black

54、 degree recipients defaulted within 12 years of entering college, a much higher rate than their white (3%) and Hispanic or Latino (8%)peers.degree recipients who received Pell Grants, most of whom had family incomes of$40,000 or less, were more than five times as likely to default within 12 years as

55、 their higher income peers (11% versus 2%).First-generation degree recipients were more than twice as likely to default than studentswhose parents had attended college (10% versus 4%).Three in 10 (30%) degree recipients who started at for-profit colleges defaulted on their federal student loans with

56、in 12 years of entering college, seven times the rate of those who at public colleges (4%) and six times the rate of those who started at nonprofit colleges (5%).*example,youngadultswithonlyahighschooldiplomaarealmostthreetimesaslikelytobeunemployed,andearnthree-fifths asmuch,asthosewithatleastabach

57、elorsdegree.CalculationsbyTICASon2016incomedatafromtheU.S.CensusBureau,CurrentPopulationSurvey,2017AnnualSocialandEconomicSupplement,PINC-04;andunpublisheddatafromtheBureauofLaborStatistics, CurrentPopulationSurvey,2017annualaverageforunemploymentrates.adultsaredefinedaspersonsaged25to34.*Allfigures

58、inthissectionarecalculationsbyTICASondatafromtheU.S.DepartmentofEducationsBeginningPostsecondaryStudents LongitudinalStudy(BPS),whichfollowsundergraduatestudentswhoenrolledincollegeforthefirsttimein2003-04andtrackswhether theydefaultedontheirfederalstudentloanswithin12yearsofenteringcollege.Thisanal

59、ysislooksatthedefaultratesforallentering students,notjustborrowers,whichreflectbothstudentsvaryinglikelihoodofborrowingloansaswellasborrowerslikelihoodofdefaulting. moreinformationaboutstudentsrepaymentstrugglesbycompletionstatus,seeTICAS.2018.StudentsatGreatestRiskofLoanDefault. /wp-content/uploads

60、/legacy-files/pub_files/students_at_the_greatest_risk_of_default.pdf.*Thesedifferencesarestatisticallysignificant,thoughthefor-profitcollegestudentestimatehashighrelativestandarderrorsdueto small samplesizes.The Institute for College Access&SuccessPage9Student Debt by StateTABLE 1Statewide average d