NCES: More Young Adults Are Completing College, But Racial Gaps Have Widened
By Allie Bidwell, Communications Staff
The percentage of young adults who have attained a higher education has increased over the last decade across all levels of postsecondary education and for most racial and ethnic groups, but the attainment gaps between white students and black and Hispanic students have still noticeably increased, according to a new report from the Department of Education (ED).
In “The Condition of Education 2016” – an annual report from ED’s National Center for Education Statistics that examines several factors related to educational progress – federal data show that between 1995 and 2015, the college attainment rate for 25- to 29-year-olds has generally increased. The percentage of those who had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher increased from 25 percent to 36 percent. Still, the growth in educational attainment for white students has exceeded the growth for other racial and ethnic groups. As a result, the white-black gap in attainment has widened from 13 to 22 percentage points, and the white-Hispanic gap has widened from 20 to 27 percentage points.
Meanwhile, graduation rates and undergraduate enrollment are also increasing. The six-year graduation rate for students who enrolled in four-year institutions in 2008 was 60 percent, up from 55.4 percent for the 1996 starting cohort. Undergraduate enrollment increased by 31 percent – from 13.2 million to 17.3 million – between 2000 and 2014.
The report also showed that earning a postsecondary credential or degree will likely increase an individual’s earnings. The median earnings of young adults with a bachelor’s degree, at $49,900, was 66 percent higher than the median earnings for young adults who did not pursue an education beyond high school, at $30,000. Still, the median earnings for young adults at most educational attainment levels declined between 2004 and 2014, the report found.
Over the last several years, however, the average undergraduate tuition and fees have increased across all four-year sectors. Public institutions reported an average increase of 5 percent between 2011-12 and 2014-15. Private nonprofit institutions reported the largest increase, of 7 percent, while private for-profit institutions reported a 2 percent increase.
The increases in tuition and fees – and in some cases, the net cost of attendance – is apparent in the trends in financial aid.
Not surprisingly, both the percentage of students taking out loans and the average amount borrowed has also generally increased. The percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who took out loans in 2013-14 increased to 47 percent, up 3 percentage points from 2005-06. The average annual loan amount increased by 23 percent, from $5,700 to $7,100 during the same time.
The percentage of students receiving any financial aid in 2013-14 (85 percent) was also slightly higher than in 2008-09 (82 percent).
The full report also contains information about institution revenues and expenditures, employment and unemployment rates by educational attainment, international educational attainment, and immediate college enrollment rates, among other measures.
Publication Date: 5/27/2016
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