Email, Matthew Reed, program director, The Institute for College Access & Success, May 5, 2016

5:06 p.m.

Thank you for your interest in our student debt data! You may attribute any of the following information to me using the contact info in my email signature below:

Based on the data we have for the Class of 2014, one-quarter of public and nonprofit four-year colleges that reported debt data had average debt that was lower than the UT system. The campuses of the University of Texas system had average debt ranging from $14,900 to $27,337. At the largest campus (Austin), average debt was $27,207. A sortable table of data for student debt for the Class of 2014 at public and nonprofit four-year colleges and universities nationwide is attached. These data were reported voluntarily by colleges to college guide publisher Peterson’s and the Class of 2014 is the most recent year of data. The average debt figures are for bachelor’s degree recipients who borrowed student loans as undergraduates. Looking at the most recent graduating class helps understand the student debt facing graduates who borrowed as they leave college in the current economic climate.

The data we have on student debt at graduation are not directly comparable to the figure given by the UT system because their figure is for the graduating Classes of 2002 through 2013 (adjusted for inflation), while our figure is for the Class of 2014 (not adjusted for inflation). Also, their figure is a median while our figures are averages (i.e., means). We do not have the data to check whether other colleges or systems had lower median debt over that twelve year period. The caveats and limitations the UT system gives for their data mean that while their figure does not cover all students, the methodology for limiting the students in the cohort is in line with other sources of student debt data.

Let me know if you have further questions about these data.

Thanks,

Matt

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Matthew Reed

Program Director

The Institute for College Access & Success