Two-page summary
Tropes vs. Truth
Key takeaways from the report—and from the Borrowers of Color Working Group.
The Report
Changing the Narrative on Student Borrowers of Color
Stark differences by race and ethnicity in student borrowing trends are well known, but real progress depends on setting up a different conversation. This collection explores the complexities of student debt; focuses on systems change and not blaming individuals; puts experts of color at the center; and emphasizes important differences among Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations.
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(Re)Thinking Black Student Debt
In 2017, data from the U.S. Department of Education revealed that half of Black borrowers default on their student loans within 12 years of enrollment, and more recent data reveal that these trends have continued. Even as the issue of college affordability and student debt has become central to public policy discourse, the necessary companion conversation about the effect of endemic structural racism on inequitable student outcomes has been less robust.
