The purpose of the U.S. Department of Education's (Department's) fiscal year (FY) 2021 "Agency Financial Report" (AFR) is to inform Congress, the President, other external stakeholders, and the American people on how the Department used the federal resources entrusted to it to advance the mission of the Department to promote student…

Nationally, student debt has doubled between 2009 and 2019 and is now hovering around $1.7 trillion. The impact that student debt financing is having on borrowers of color is harmful and unsustainable. It is also widening the already significant racial wealth gap. The pandemic is likely to only exacerbate these inequities as people of color and…

Objective: This study examined how a set of theoretically derived factors predicted the educational attainment outcomes of Latina/o community college students. The guiding research question was, "What precollege and background characteristics, college experiences, and environmental pull factors uniquely predict persistence, certificate or…

To provide greater understanding, Trellis Research recently conducted a mixed-methods, outcomes-based study of parent PLUS borrowers in Texas. The study, "PLUS Borrowing in Texas: Repayment Expectations, Experience, and Hindsight by Minority-Serving Institution Status," provides a rare look into the repayment behavior of Parent PLUS…

Every year, BC Student Outcomes collects feedback from former students who took post-secondary programs. Student feedback is essential to maintain quality and relevance in the education system. In 2020, more than 29,000 former students were surveyed; key results from those surveys are presented here. In 2020, 92 percent of the former…

The 120 movers and shakers included on LinkedIn's 2016 list of Next Wave honorees hail from a variety of industries but share a common goal. Their objective? To tackle some of the globe's most critical issues by rethinking business-as-usual. Professionals selected for the list are dedicated to transforming the way people live, learn, and even…

Each year the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report, the 48th annual survey, represents data from academic year 2016-17. Data is provided regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and…

The Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-105) was put in place to extend temporarily the Federal Perkins Loan program, and for other purposes. The act is organized into the following sections: (1) Short Title; (2) Extension of Federal Perkins Loan Program (Authority to Make Loans--In General: Section 462 of the Higher…

As college costs continue to rise, students and their families increasingly rely on federal loans to help pay for college expenses. In 2011-12, over half of all undergraduates (52 percent) had borrowed money from the federal government to fund their education, compared with just over one-quarter (27 percent) in 1989-90, some 2 decades. Although…

Using a phenomenological method, this study explored the higher-education affordability perceptions of a purposively-collected group of 19 students at the pseudonymous Crestview Community College (CCC) in Colorado. The defining themes of the study were: (a) knowledge of the College Opportunity Fund (COF) program and perceptions of higher-education…

This annual report shows how fee and support systems (including grants and loans) interact in higher education in Europe. It provides both a comparative overview and individual country sheets outlining the main elements of national systems. In particular, the publication describes the range of fees charged to students, specifying the categories of…

Recent trends in higher education financing have increased students' need to borrow to afford college. This brief examines how federal student loan borrowing has changed from 2000 to 2016 by student race/ethnicity using logistic regression analysis and data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). We find that the odds of…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment, Committee on Education and Labor that was held to discuss how chronically underfunding public education is affecting students, parents, teachers, and communities. Member statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Susan A. Davis,…

The proposed College Affordability Act calls for a massive uptick in federal spending on higher education and increased access to federal student aid (which has been shown to inflate tuition), while easing the criteria for federal loan forgiveness, leaving the bill to American taxpayers. Americans need solutions that will drive down the price of…

Despite the obvious benefits derived from education, governments face difficult trade-offs when balancing the share of public and private contributions to education. Understanding how private expenditure is sourced, through public transfers or through private funds, can make a difference in enabling access to education and provide insights into…