A Policymaker’s Guide to Using New Student Debt Metrics to Strengthen Higher Education Accountability

A college degree or credential is a crucial stepping-stone to the middle class, and American colleges and universities play an essential role in building a more prosperous, equitable country. However, too many colleges routinely and disproportionately enroll students who end up struggling to repay or, worse, default on their student debt.

A Policymaker’s Guide to Using New Student Debt Metrics to Strengthen Higher Education Accountability, a new report from The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), considers three promising debt metrics that could complement and strengthen existing accountability metrics and ultimately move the needle on borrower success: debt-to-discretionary earnings ratios, earnings net of expected debt payments thresholds, and repayment rates.