Fewer first-time, full-time students at public two-year institutions are taking loans to pay for college, and those amounts also are lower, according to a new federal report.
Among public two-year institutions, a lower percentage of full-time students were awarded loans in 2015-16 than in 2010-11, 21 percent compared to 25 percent, respectively, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ “The Condition of Education 2018.”
This is indicative of a national trend among all U.S. degree-granting colleges and universities. Less than half (46 percent) of all first-time, full-time undergraduates received loans in 2015-16, compared to 50 percent in 2010-11.
At public two-year colleges, the average annual loan amounts were 11 percent lower in 2015-16 ($4,700) than in 2010-11 ($5,300), according to the report. The percentage decrease was the largest among all undergraduates, while public and private nonprofit four-year institutions saw 2 percent increases in average loan amounts.
School and work
The report also provides information about college students who work while enrolled. A higher percentage of full-time students at two-year colleges work compared to full-time students at four-year institutions. It also shows that a higher percent of part-time students at four-year institutions work than part-time students at two-year colleges.
In 2015, 46 percent of full-time two-year undergraduates worked, compared to 42 percent of those at four-year institutions, the report shows. Among those who attend college part time, 80 percent of four-year students worked compared to 76 percent of two-year students.
Students were classified as full time if they were taking at least 12 hours of classes during the average school week and as part time if they were taking fewer hours.
Overall, fewer full-time and part-time undergraduates work now than a decade ago, according to the report. In 2015, 43 percent of full-time postsecondary students worked, compared to half in 2005. Among part-time students, 78 percent of student worked in 2015, compared to 86 percent in 2005.
