Financing Evidence-Based College Completion Programs

The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) released a new collection of papers from leading researchers examining how policymakers can make debt-free college a reality for all students.

Analysis focuses on two key design details that can make income-driven repayment work better for borrowers.

TICAS' sixteenth annual report on debt for bachelor’s degree graduates of public and nonprofit colleges, finds vast variation in debt levels across states as well as colleges.

More than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt and they owed an average of $28,950. This is a lower share of students than the Class of 2018 (65%), and a very slight decline (less than 1%) in total debt from the 2018 average of $29,200.

This brief illustrates that while many borrowers in IDR will repay their loans in full, those who do receive a discharge of remaining debt after 20 or 25 years of responsible payments may face an unaffordable tax liability because these discharged amounts are treated as taxable income under current law.

New data show that the average student debt for college graduates continues to climb but at a slower pace. Nationally, about two in three (65 percent) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2018 had student loan debt. These borrowers owed an average of $29,200, 2 percent higher than the 2017 average.