Higher Education

Record shares of young adults are completing high school, going to college and finishing college. In 2012, for the first time ever, one-third of the nation’s 25- to 29-year-olds have completed at least a bachelor’s degree.

A record 40% of all households headed by someone younger than age 35 owe money on their student loans, by far the highest share among any age group

About one out of five (19%) of the nation’s households owed student debt in 2010, more than double the share two decades earlier and a significant rise from the 15% that owed such debt in 2007. A record 40% of all households headed by someone younger than age 35 owed student debt in 2010.

Experts expect more-efficient collaborative environments and new grading schemes; they worry about massive online courses, the shift away from on-campus life

Many borrowers say the burden of paying back student loans has made it harder to pay their bills and make ends meet.

The issue of costs and rising student debt have have touched off a national debate about the cost and value of a college education. Surveys by the Pew Research Center present this portrait of the views of the general public and college graduates on these issues.

Americans generally think that colleges and universities have a positive impact on the country, and an overwhelming majority of college graduates say higher education is worth the investment. However, conservative Republicans are skeptical of colleges’ effects on the country, even though most who have completed college view the experience as personally beneficial. In the latest […]

As online college courses are becoming more prevalent, the public is skeptical about their educational value. According to a recent Pew Research survey, only 29% of Americans say online classes are equal in value to classes taken in person.

As online college courses have become increasingly prevalent, the general public and college presidents offer different assessments of their educational value.

A new Pew Hispanic Center report, using census data, documents a 24% increase in college enrollment from 2009 to 2010 by Hispanics ages 18-24, and compares the statistics for Hispanics with those of other groups.