Obtaining a college degree creates a pathway for low-income students and their families toward advancement within American society. Earning a postsecondary credential positively impacts an individual's employment outcomes, income, job satisfaction, and overall health. In working toward this goal, older, financially independent working…

Racial inequities in higher education and the labor market have led to disparate outcomes in student loan borrowing and repayment by race, with Black borrowers holding more student debt and being more likely to default on it compared with white borrowers. Student loan default, which helps perpetuate the racial wealth gap by disproportionately…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended), authorizes numerous federal aid programs that provide support to both individuals pursuing a postsecondary education and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The FAFSA Simplification Act (FSA; Title VII, Division FF of P.L. 116-260) makes significant changes to the underlying…

Despite growing interest and investment in building a more racially and ethnically diverse teacher workforce, increases in the share of teachers of color nationally have stalled in recent years. Even with more new teachers of color entering the profession each year, about 80% of the teacher workforce has been white since 2015. This trend…

Recent higher education investments in Michigan have prompted the authors to revisit the reality of college affordability in the state, so that policymakers and stakeholders can monitor the impact of investments moving forward. While MI has lowered the net cost of a postsecondary education, a college credential still remains out of reach for many…

Chapter 1 of the "Comprehensive Statewide Plan for Postsecondary Education" identifies several statewide goals related to meeting the needs of students, meeting the needs of the state, meeting needs by building exemplary institutions, and meeting educational needs through partnerships and collaboration. These goals are critical to the…

The fertility rate in the United States has dropped to 1.6, an all-time low and far below the 2.1 replacement rate required to maintain steady population. Fertility rates are dropping world-wide and are proving resistant to a variety of policy efforts to reverse the trend. While no silver bullet can increase the married birth rate, developing…

The number of undergraduates in the United States has increased by more than 30 percent since 2000, with two-year institutions absorbing the majority of new students. At the same time, outstanding student-loan debt has grown nationwide, reaching $1.4 trillion in 2018. Although the federal student-loan program exists to provide such resources, the…

Government backed income contingent student loans are an increasingly being used to fund higher education. An income contingent repayment plan acts as an incremental marginal tax on labor earnings, which could cause individuals to distort their work effort. This paper uses an administrative dataset from the UK that links student loan borrowers…

U.S. citizens or permanent residents, enrolled at least half time in a qualified program at a participating school, not in default on a prior federal student loan, and not previously convicted of a drug offense while receiving federal financial aid are eligible to apply for a student loan. This chart summarizes the interest rates, loan limits, and…

The current research focused on the impact of delayed loan disbursement on performance. The study focused on Kenyatta University, situated in Nairobi, Kenya. In the study, the variables of class attendance, personal expenses, and course registration were evaluated as the main factors that impacted student performance due to delayed loans. A sample…

This report highlights higher education's early return on investment for the Kentucky high school class of 2011. It follows 43,655 students who graduated from a Kentucky high school in 2011 to 2019, the most recent year of data available. Following a note from the president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and an executive…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, undergraduate enrollment dropped by nearly 10%. Yet those who are attending college are still shouldering a hefty financial burden. This issue brief examines a survey of 1,521 women in New York City to learn more about their experiences with student loan debt during the pandemic. The results indicate glaring…

"A Dream Defaulted" explores how the student loan crisis disproportionately affects Black borrowers and why rising student debt is both a cause and consequence of social inequality in the United States. Authors Jason N. Houle and Fenaba R. Addo offer a deft analysis of the growing financial crisis in education, examining its sources and…

Between 1965 and 2010, most federal student loans were issued by private lending institutions and guaranteed by the government, and most student loan borrowers made fixed monthly payments over a set period--typically 10 years. Since 2010, however, all federal student loans have been issued directly by the federal government, and borrowers have…