Forty per cent of graduating students have no debt. Surprised?

By Chris Martin. In newspaper articles about higher education, there are a few commonly cited statistics I like to refer to as “greatest hits.” Average undergraduate tuition, per-student government funding, employment rates of recent graduates, are all in this group. However, one of the greatest hits of all time – the Bohemian Rhapsody of higher education statistics if you will – is average student debt. While it is an important issue, student debt might be one of the most misunderstood, poorly researched subjects in all of public policy. Some excellent work has been done in the past to help understand student debt in Canada, but the statistics are not updated regularly and are often misunderstood. As a result, despite being one of higher education’s most commonly cited statistics, it is also the most likely to be inaccurate. I have seen “average student debt” figures as low as $14,000 and as high as $37,000. Read more...