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Debt Relief Resources for Student Loan Borrowers

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The Institute for College Access & Success

Learn About TICAS' 2023 Strategic Plan

TICAS advocates for every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, or family wealth, to have access to a quality higher education program without the need to incur debt to realize their dreams of earning a college credential.


Our Work

We try to understand college opportunity through careful research and by listening to the students and those who serve them. We combine concrete, tailored policy recommendations with passionate, sophisticated advocacy, nationally and in California.

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Affordability

We advocate for more accessible and effective Pell Grants and Cal Grants, more affordable student loans, greater and more equitable state funding, and better consumer information for students.

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Accountability

We work to hold predatory colleges accountable for deceptive and illegal conduct, reducing the number of students left worse off by burdensome student debt, and other steps to improve student outcomes.

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California

California’s Master Plan for higher education guarantees a place in college for every eligible student. We seek to ensure students have the financial aid and student services they need to succeed.

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Recent Work

Shifting Narratives: Centering Race in Defining and Measuring College Value

New analysis finds students attending colleges with higher percentages of racially marginalized students owe more in college debt and earn less in workforce.

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Series of Reports Find Common Recruiting Practice Perpetuate Bias, But Crucial for College Access of Underrepresented Students

The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) partnered with University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Associate Professor Ozan Jaquette, University of Arizona Assistant Professor Karina Salazar, data scientist Crystal Han, and UCLA Phd student Patricia Martin to release a series of three comprehensive reports.

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Key Projects

College Insight

College Insight is a unique and valuable data resource for policymakers, journalists, and researchers interested in college affordability, student debt, economic and racial diversity, student success.

Project on Student Debt

We document unaffordable levels of student debt facing many low-income students and students of color. We promote reforms to reduce risky debt and work to ensure all borrowers are treated fairly.

SNAP Reimagined: Improving Postsecondary Education Access and Completion
Analysis

SNAP Reimagined: Improving Postsecondary Education Access and Completion

In its first analysis focused on student basic needs and anti-poverty, TICAS details the disconnect between higher education access and SNAP eligibility requirements and provides policy solutions to help improve pathways that lead to economic security.

How Iowa and Louisiana Use State Data to Help Boost FAFSA Completion Rates
News & Media

How Iowa and Louisiana Use State Data to Help Boost FAFSA Completion Rates

In a newly released brief, The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) outlines how states like Iowa and Louisiana have successfully used data to…