Student debt levels continue to rise

Undergraduate student loan debt at the university continues to climb, according to the Office of Student Financial Services.

Average loan debt for students who earned their bachelor’s degrees in the 2006–07 academic year was $21,018, up 3.6 percent from the previous year and above the national average of $19,646.

“We continue to see increases in alternative, nonfederal educational loans which likely account for the increase in the average debt load,” says OSFS director Susan Fischer. “These loans should be a very last resort of funding for our student body. Unfortunately, without an infusion of need-based scholarships or increases in the federal student loan maximums, I expect this trend in alternative loan borrowing to continue.”

The report examines August 2006, December 2006 and May 2007 graduates with debt. Debt amounts are in real dollars, not adjusted for inflation.

The actual number of students graduating with loan debt decreased slightly during the period. Of the 6,059 undergraduates who completed their degrees this spring, 2,903 graduated with some student loan debt amount. In 2005–06, 2,954 bachelor’s degree graduates out of 6,273 finished with some loan debt.

As a percentage, the number of undergraduates with student loan debt upon graduation remained nearly constant: 47.9 percent in 2006–07, compared to 47 percent the year before.

Debt for students of color was roughly parallel to overall student numbers at $21,262, compared to $18,658 in 2005–06.

Fischer also cautions that there is some evidence of growing credit card and other debt among students that is not reflected in the annual student debt report prepared by the office.