Report: Student loan debt reaches $1.4 trillion — from campustechnology.com by Joshua Bolkan
Excerpt:
Student loan debt in the United States has grown 149 percent over the last decade to reach $1.4 trillion, according to a new report from Experian. Over the same period, the average student loan debt per person went up 62 percent.
Held by 13.4 percent of Americans, student loan debt is the fastest growing debt segment and the largest non-household debt. But, counter-intuitively, fewer people make late payments on this type of debt than on other loans. In fact, the percentage of late payments on student debt has decreased 10.1 percent since 2009.
Other key findings of the report include…
From DSC:
The thing that makes this soooo difficult is that faculty members, staff, and members of administrations often don’t see this crushing development. It’s invisible to many of them! The growing, heavy gorillas on the backs of our graduates aren’t seen on campus. Students graduate and move on. But the realities and implications of those debts can be felt for decades!
Several major events in our graduates lives are likely to be increasingly postponed, such as:
- Starting a family
- Purchasing a new home
- Investing in — or saving for — their retirement
The current models and methods of higher education must change! Prices MUST come down. If the traditional institutions of higher education don’t change, don’t be surprised when the alternatives keep picking up steam and eventually — and majorly — disrupt higher education.
This is a social justice issue for me.