In this paper, we examine the economic outcomes that students obtain by pursuing a postsecondary credential within the United States. Specifically, we look at several minimal economic benchmarks to see just how many colleges exceed — or fail to meet — basic financial outcomes for the students who attend.

In the newest issue brief between NASFAA and the HEA Group, we explore the extent to which college completion impacts student loan repayment. The result? Those who did not complete college now owe $918 million more than they borrowed in the first place.

In this report, the HEA Group and Student Defense analyzes the five most popular master’s and doctoral programs awarded in the United States and examines whether there are differences in how much students earn—and how much they owe—based on their specific course of study.

In this analysis, we explore efforts that Ivy League institutions can take to increase opportunities for students, especially those from lower- and moderate-income backgrounds. Specifically, we examine what a modest 5% increase of these students would look like at these schools. Even such small growth could pay big dividends for the low- and moderate-income students who get to attend.

Roughly one in three American graduate schools leave their students owing more in student loans than they originally borrowed, according to a new analysis of U.S. Department of Education data by The HEA Group and Student Defense. At seven of the worst-performing schools—all for-profit or private colleges—students who entered repayment in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years racked up more than $100 million of excess debt on top of their original loan amount in just five years.

Every year, American taxpayers provide over $100 billion to help subsidize students’ higher education endeavors. Do you ever wonder where those dollars actually go? Our latest data show the total amount of federal grants and loans that flow to institutions every single year.

Almost everyone who pursues a postsecondary education assumes it will provide greater employability and financial security. But, the reality is, the field of study you choose can affect the likelihood of both. In our latest data download, you can explore over 200 college majors and how much graduates earn four years after they’ve completed their program.

The number one reason why students attend college is for greater employability and to obtain a financially secure future. Oftentimes, the major you choose matters more than the college you attend. In our newest data download, you can check out how much students earn after graduating from over 36,000 undergraduate college programs across the U.S.

College is one of the most expensive endeavors that a person will ever pursue. And for lower-income students, the costs alone can be even more daunting. In this latest data download, check out the out-of-pocket costs ("net price") that institutions estimate it will cost their lower- and higher-income students to earn their credential.

A list of the most expensive colleges in the United States. They are ordered from the most to the least by the annual "net price," which is the total out-of-pocket costs that students will need to finance either through personal funds or loans. You can also see the total amount of undergraduate students that attend each institution, as well as the total amount of federal student aid that is disbursed to its students (undergraduate and graduate) on an annual basis. All data come from the US Department of Education.

I joined Justin Draeger, President and CEO, on NASFAA's "Off the Cuff" podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on data and accountability metrics in higher education.

Along with Third Way’s higher education team, I co-hosted a conversation with our colleagues from the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity about the intersection of entrepreneurship and economic mobility at HBCUs.

In this Public Viewpoint session, I joined leaders in the field to discuss how we can measure student outcomes in new and exciting ways.

I joined fellow researchers and policy analysts to discuss prospects for policy changes that increase accountability along with ideas for how to use research and data to build better metrics that can fairly assess the value of higher education and guide policymaking in the future.

We are in dire need of a completely different approach to assessing institutions of higher education. Instead of prioritizing reputation and selectivity, we propose a new rating system known as the Economic Mobility Index (EMI) that attempts to answer the question: “If the primary purpose of postsecondary education is supposed to be to catalyze an increase in economic mobility, which schools are succeeding in that goal?”

New program-level data released from the US Department of Education now allows us to dig below the surface at many institutions across the country to explore what kind of ROI the typical student received from the specific college program from which they graduated.

Just as Wall Street investors use a price-to-earnings ratio to evaluate the value of individual stocks, consumers and lawmakers should similarly be able to assess the return that an individual institution provides to its students before they decide to write huge checks. To capture this sentiment, this paper models a new approach for measuring economic value—a Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP)—that can be used to get a sense of the amount of time it usually takes to recoup the cost of obtaining a credential at a particular school.

This report examines the differences in loan repayment rates for different slices of student borrowers: those who complete an award or degree and those who never finish.