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  • Despite low public tuition, California ranks in top third among states for average student debt

    Despite low public tuition, California ranks in top third among states for average student debt


    California may have low public college tuition costs when compared to other colleges and universities nationally, but it is not enough to prevent students from taking high amounts of student loans.

    A new study released exclusively to EdSource from The Century Foundation found Californians have higher average student debt balances, risky graduate school debt, a unique reliance on parent-held debt and significantly high student debt among Black families.

    California’s high cost of living makes debt inevitable for many students, but the risk is greater for students from lower-income families and communities of color eager to use education as a ladder into the middle class. Open-ended loans aimed at parents and graduate students are particularly burdensome, including those used to attend for-profit colleges.

    Despite having a smaller share of student loan borrowers when compared with other states, California’s borrowers are in the top third among states, with an average of $37,400 owed, according to national data from June 2022. That figure includes all borrowers, regardless of whether they attended college in California. The state ranks 16th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for borrowers with high balances. This is despite having the fourth-lowest rate of student borrowers.

    “One of California’s great successes is in college affordability and the fact that so many students go through college without debt,” said Peter Granville, a fellow at the foundation studying federal and state policy efforts to improve college affordability and author of the study. “Unfortunately, the Californians who do borrow take out some of the most risky debt around.” The foundation is a progressive, independent think tank that researches and promotes policy change to foster equity.

    Besides the impact on individuals, student loan debt has become a larger problem for the American economy. Nationally, the current student loan debt totals $1.77 trillion.

    “Student debt is something that is different from what it was 10 or 20 years ago,” U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal told higher education reporters earlier this month at UC Riverside. “People are borrowing more. They’re struggling more with those loans. It’s not just a problem for the 43 million Americans with student loan debt when they cannot afford to buy a house, start a new business or save for their own children or their retirement. It’s a problem for their families. It’s a problem for their communities. It’s a problem for our economy. It’s a fundamental crisis that we have to address in our country. We have to change how we’re financing higher education.”

    Loan repayments restarting in October

    With the Supreme Court rejecting President Joe Biden’s attempt to forgive $20,000 in loans for millions of borrowers, many are preparing to restart repayments in October. The situation underscores a larger student loan crisis in California and across the country. Millions of people, including those who never graduated from college and parents, are carrying student loan debt that they cannot afford and realistically may not ever pay back. 

    “Californians really struggle with repayment,” Granville said. “The state economy demands a college education, and I believe that demand drives up borrowing.” 

    And the situation is worse for graduates and families that borrow from the federal Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loan programs that allow parents to borrow on behalf of their college students and graduate students to afford higher degrees, Granville said, adding that both programs offer high-interest, uncapped loans. 

    “These loans are probably the worst things to dangle in front of families with real genuine fears of being left behind economically,” he said. “But that leads to high balances that are difficult to manage.” 

    Graduate loan debt is larger in California than in the rest of the country, the study found. The state’s average annual Grad Plus loan is 25% higher than the rest of the country. In-state graduate students borrow on average $28,300 in loans each year compared with $22,400 nationally.

    California places a premium on higher education in the state, Granville said. The average California worker with a graduate degree earns $108,500 – a 50% increase above the average income for bachelor’s degree holders. 

    The state also sees a disproportionate share of Black students borrowing student loans. In the 2015-16 academic year, 28% of Black in-state undergraduates borrowed loans compared with 21% of all undergraduates. At the graduate level, 81% of Black Californians took out student loans compared to 51% of all other graduate students. 


    “High borrowing among Black students in California locks in inequality that can last long into repayment,” Granville said. “Despite having a college degree and living in a higher income state, Black borrowers in California actually show worse financial security.” 

    Black women undergraduates borrow at the highest rates in any one year, with 31% taking loans in 2015-16 compared with 21% of all undergraduates, according to the study.

    Granville said the data reflects the racial wealth gap. 

    “Black families have fewer financial resources than white families,” he said. “That leads to it being a lot harder to ask a Black family to self-finance education without debt. Homeownership also matters. You can take out a home equity loan for a much lower rate than a Parent Plus loan, for example.” 

    Latinos follow Black borrowers but with not as high graduate loan debt at 62%. But Latino families also have concerning trends. The majority of Latino borrowers in California don’t have a college degree, while only one-quarter of white borrowers don’t. The report explains that this could be due to a greater share of Latinos leaving college before they earn a degree or higher shares of parents borrowing on behalf of their children. 

    Granville said the state should examine whether all California families are “being potentially set up to fail.” 

    “Lawmakers should be looking at the colleges within California and asking, are colleges passing on high costs to students knowing that they can take out this uncapped loan debt?” he said. “I worry about how some loans are being sold to students by their colleges. Unless families are getting wise counsel, they may be unknowingly signing up for a pretty tough repayment experience.” 

    The racial wealth gap, along with California’s cost of living, makes it particularly challenging for Californians to pay their student debt, Granville said. 

    Repaying more than $200,000

    In many ways, Richelle Brooks is a college success story. She’s also an outlier in the student debt crisis.

    Credit: Courtesy of Richelle Brooks

    Richelle Brooks

    A first-generation college student, Brooks earned an associate degree from El Camino College, then went on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Cal State Dominguez Hills. She graduated with her doctorate in 2018 from Cal State Los Angeles. 

    Now, as a Los Angeles-area high school principal, she mentors and educates low-income students and students of color. She’s also facing more than $237,000 of student loan debt. The mom of three can’t fathom repaying it all, even with her $120,000 annual salary. 

    Enrolling in community colleges even after graduating with her doctorate, as well as the three-year pandemic pause, allowed her to put off making payments. But that could be coming to an end.

    Brooks, who advocates for student loan forgiveness, participates in one of the federal government’s income-driven repayment plans, which slowly escalates her monthly payments based on her income as a high school principal. Her first payment, which restarts in October, is for $700. But by June 2024 it will increase to $2,600 a month.

    “I ran the numbers,” Brooks, 36, said. “It’ll be cheaper to stay in school the rest of my life than to pay that $200,000.” (Federal loan repayments pause while a person is enrolled in school.) 

    About $33,000 of Brooks’ debt is just from interest that accumulated over the years. But because of the interest, Brooks said that her ability to pay off the debt “doesn’t exist.” 

    “On paper, it sounds like I make a lot of money,” she said. “But they’re not taking into consideration that I live in LA and I have three kids.”

    Brook’s partner is a military veteran and teacher. He doesn’t have student loans because of his military service, but the couple found they’re unable to purchase a home for their family because of Brook’s debt-to-income ratio, a situation that affects many student borrowers. Brooks also supports her mother, who lives with the family after facing homelessness. 

    California’s high cost of living makes it difficult for young people coming out of college without significant family resources to accumulate assets like a home, especially if they have student loan debt. In California, 78% of Black households with student debt and 74% of Latino households with student debt have less than $50,000 in savings and investments, compared with 57% of white households with student loans, according to The Century Foundation.

    In addition to her work as a principal, Brooks said she’s taken on other jobs to make ends meet, including driving Uber, and that’s before the loan repayments begin.

    “Whatever it takes to make sure my kids have what they need and the bills are paid,” she said.

    Brooks’ two oldest children are in high school and affording college is a common discussion in their home. 

    “I do not foresee a way for me to pay off my debt and figure out a way to pay my kids’ college, and I do not want them to go into debt,” she said. “I talked to my daughter about joining the military, but it’s kind of terrifying too because she’s a little Black girl. … So I’m trying to figure it out.”

    As an educator, Brooks could apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which she is considering once again. The program typically forgives the debt of people who work for a government or nonprofit employer, such as teachers, first responders and nurses. But forgiveness isn’t granted until after the borrower makes 120 or 10 years of payments. 

    Restarting repayments

    Although Brooks’ debt amounts are larger than the average of most borrowers, her struggle to repay her college loans is common. 

    “In the popular imagination, there is this idea that student debt is a young people issue,” said Thomas Gokey, an organizer and co-founder of The Debt Collective, a union of advocates for publicly funded college, universal health care and guaranteed housing. “The truth is that the debt just doesn’t go away.” 

    People age, have children, grandchildren, and careers decades removed from graduation, and the “debt is still there,” Gokey said, adding that for many people, the monthly payments don’t cover the interest. 

    Some people have fully paid back their principle multiple times over, with the outstanding balance higher than the original balance. Other people may fall on hard times and can’t make payments, which leads to massive penalties, he said, referring to one case where a borrower defaulted on her student loan during the 2008 financial crisis and saw a $10,000 penalty added to her balance.

    For undergraduates, even when their financial aid forms say they have $0 in expected family contributions, the cost of college attendance and tuition has increased to the point where aid doesn’t cover everything, he said. “The only option is Parent Plus loans to fill the gap. It’s just astonishing that a lot of parents will be paying off the loans for a longer period of time than they lived with or raised the children that they got the loan for.” 

    Granville said many, trying to get ahead, take on more loans after undergraduate loans.

    “Students often turn to graduate education when they’re struggling with their undergraduate loans,” he said. “They may see the next degree as the thing that will give them the earning power to handle the debt that they have struggled with already.” 

    There is a misperception that a graduate degree means a person will be “really successful” and “make a lot of money,” Gokey said. “And that’s just not true if you’re a social worker,” he added, as an example of a lower salary job.

    According to The Century Foundation’s data, a social worker with a bachelor’s degree earns on average $34,183 one year after completing their program, but has an average $15,599 in student loans. A social worker with a master’s degree earns an average of $54,223 one year after completing their program, but has on average nearly $80,000 in student loans. Licensed clinical social workers in California are required by the state to have a master’s degree in social work. 

    Gokey said that there’s no way to “financial literacy yourself” out of student loan debt. 

    Options and fixes 

    Although interest rates restarted in September and repayments resume in October, the federal government is giving borrowers a one-year grace period as it attempts to fix the loan system and offer solutions that significantly lower monthly payments. 

    “We really inherited a student loan system that was broken,” Kvaal said. “Before the student loan pause, we had a million students a year defaulting on their student loans.” 

    Kvaal said those defaults weren’t from people running from their responsibilities, but borrowers struggling with payments. Many of them were first-generation or students of color, he said. 

    Institution name Type Stafford (undergraduate) Parent PLUS Grad PLUS
    Academy of Art University For-profit 37% 30% 42%
    Advanced Career Institute For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Allan Hancock College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Alliant International University-San Diego For-profit n/a n/a n/a
    American Academy of Dramatic Arts-Los Angeles Non-profit 37% n/a n/a
    American Career College-Los Angeles For-profit 34% 21% n/a
    American Career College-Ontario For-profit 37% 32% n/a
    American College of Healthcare and Technology For-profit 51% n/a n/a
    American River College Public 44% n/a n/a
    Angeles Institute For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Antelope Valley College Public 43% n/a n/a
    Antioch University-Los Angeles Non-profit 36% n/a n/a
    Art Center College of Design Non-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Asher College For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Ashford University For-profit 46% 37% 44%
    Associated Technical College-Los Angeles For-profit 49% n/a n/a
    Associated Technical College-San Diego For-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Avalon School of Cosmetology-Alameda For-profit 41% n/a n/a
    Aveda Institute-Los Angeles For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    Azusa Pacific University Non-profit 25% 16% 42%
    Bakersfield College Public 43% n/a n/a
    Bard College – MAT Program CA Non-profit 24% 17% n/a
    Bellus Academy-Chula Vista For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    Bellus Academy-El Cajon For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Bellus Academy-Poway For-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Berkeley City College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Bethel Seminary-San Diego Non-profit 18% 22% 36%
    Biola University Non-profit 20% 22% 32%
    Blake Austin College For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Brandman University Non-profit 31% n/a 39%
    Brownson Technical School For-profit 17% n/a n/a
    Butte College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Cabrillo College Public 42% n/a n/a
    California Aeronautical University For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    California Baptist University Non-profit 31% 30% 43%
    California Career Institute For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    California College of the Arts Non-profit 26% 32% 47%
    California College San Diego Non-profit 44% n/a n/a
    California Hair Design Academy For-profit 26% n/a n/a
    California Healing Arts College For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    California Institute of Integral Studies Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    California Institute of the Arts Non-profit 37% n/a n/a
    California Lutheran University Non-profit 22% 26% n/a
    California Nurses Educational Institute For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo Public 12% 14% 24%
    California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Public 21% 22% 38%
    California State University Maritime Academy Public 17% n/a n/a
    California State University-Bakersfield Public 29% n/a n/a
    California State University-Channel Islands Public 22% 17% n/a
    California State University-Chico Public 23% 22% n/a
    California State University-Dominguez Hills Public 27% n/a 32%
    California State University-East Bay Public 25% 22% 35%
    California State University-Fresno Public 24% n/a 34%
    California State University-Fullerton Public 20% 27% 29%
    California State University-Long Beach Public 20% 22% 37%
    California State University-Los Angeles Public 23% n/a 37%
    California State University-Monterey Bay Public 24% 17% 37%
    California State University-Northridge Public 22% 17% 37%
    California State University-Sacramento Public 24% 20% 36%
    California State University-San Bernardino Public 27% 22% 40%
    California State University-San Marcos Public 23% n/a n/a
    California State University-Stanislaus Public 23% 17% 36%
    California Western School of Law Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Cambridge Junior College-Yuba City For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Career Academy of Beauty For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Career Care Institute For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    Career Networks Institute For-profit 33% n/a n/a
    Carrington College-Sacramento For-profit 37% 20% n/a
    Casa Loma College-Van Nuys Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    CBD College Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Central Coast College For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Cerritos College Public 32% n/a n/a
    CET-San Diego Non-profit 40% n/a n/a
    Chabot College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Chamberlain University-California For-profit 26% 24% 30%
    Chapman University Non-profit 20% 18% n/a
    Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science Non-profit n/a n/a 37%
    Cinta Aveda Institute For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    Citrus College Public 33% n/a n/a
    City College of San Francisco Public 43% n/a n/a
    Claremont Graduate University Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Coastline Community College Public 43% n/a n/a
    Cogswell University of Silicon Valley For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    College of Marin Public 51% n/a n/a
    College of the Canyons Public 37% n/a n/a
    College of the Redwoods Public 37% n/a n/a
    College of the Sequoias Public 32% n/a n/a
    College of the Siskiyous Public 45% n/a n/a
    Columbia College – Los Alamitos Non-profit 39% n/a 38%
    Columbia College Hollywood Non-profit 39% 32% n/a
    Concorde Career College-Garden Grove For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Concorde Career College-North Hollywood For-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Concorde Career College-San Bernardino For-profit 35% n/a n/a
    Concorde Career College-San Diego For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    Concordia University-Irvine Non-profit 22% 27% 27%
    Contra Costa College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Cosumnes River College Public 45% n/a n/a
    Cuesta College Public 30% n/a n/a
    Culinary Institute of America at Greystone Non-profit 24% 33% n/a
    Cypress College Public 30% n/a n/a
    De Anza College Public 34% n/a n/a
    Design’s School of Cosmetology For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    DeVry University-California For-profit 42% 29% 40%
    Diablo Valley College Public 27% n/a n/a
    Diversified Vocational College For-profit 51% n/a n/a
    Dominican University of California Non-profit 20% n/a 37%
    East Los Angeles College Public 33% n/a n/a
    Empire College For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Feather River Community College District Public 41% n/a n/a
    Federico Beauty Institute For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-Los Angeles For-profit 30% 32% n/a
    Fielding Graduate University Non-profit n/a n/a 37%
    Folsom Lake College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Foothill College Public 35% n/a n/a
    Fremont College For-profit 43% n/a n/a
    Fresno City College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Fresno Pacific University Non-profit 28% n/a 38%
    Fuller Theological Seminary Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Fullerton College Public 36% n/a n/a
    Glendale Career College For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Glendale Community College Public 27% n/a n/a
    Golden Gate University-San Francisco Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Golden West College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Grossmont College Public 30% n/a n/a
    Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts For-profit 25% n/a n/a
    Harvey Mudd College Non-profit 8% n/a n/a
    High Desert Medical College For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Holy Names University Non-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Homestead Schools Non-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Hope International University Non-profit 30% n/a n/a
    Humboldt State University Public 29% 22% 37%
    Humphreys University-Stockton and Modesto Campuses Non-profit 41% n/a n/a
    Hussian College-Los Angeles For-profit 53% n/a n/a
    Institute for Business and Technology For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    Institute of Culinary Education For-profit 19% n/a n/a
    Institute of Technology For-profit 43% n/a n/a
    InterCoast Colleges-Santa Ana For-profit 40% n/a n/a
    International School of Beauty Inc For-profit 42% n/a n/a
    International School of Cosmetology For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Irvine Valley College Public 37% n/a n/a
    John F. Kennedy University Non-profit 37% n/a n/a
    La Sierra University Non-profit 33% 27% n/a
    Laguna College of Art and Design Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Laney College Public 47% n/a n/a
    Laurus College For-profit 53% n/a n/a
    Life Chiropractic College West Non-profit n/a n/a 47%
    Life Pacific University Non-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Loma Linda University Non-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Long Beach City College Public 36% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Center Non-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles City College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Film School For-profit 47% 37% n/a
    Los Angeles Mission College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Pierce College Public 40% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Southwest College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Trade Technical College Public 39% n/a n/a
    Los Angeles Valley College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Loyola Marymount University Non-profit 17% 24% n/a
    Lu Ross Academy For-profit 26% n/a n/a
    Make-up Designory For-profit 19% 22% n/a
    Marshall B Ketchum University Non-profit n/a n/a 32%
    Marymount California University Non-profit 35% n/a n/a
    Mayfield College For-profit 39% n/a n/a
    Mendocino College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Menlo College Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Merritt College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Miami Ad School-San Francisco For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Non-profit 14% n/a n/a
    Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Fairfield For-profit 49% n/a n/a
    Milan Institute-Fresno For-profit 46% n/a n/a
    Milan Institute-Palm Desert For-profit 45% n/a n/a
    Milan Institute-Visalia For-profit 34% n/a n/a
    Mills College Non-profit 26% n/a n/a
    MiraCosta College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Moler Barber College For-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Monterey Peninsula College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Moorpark College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Moreno Valley College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Mount Saint Mary’s University Non-profit 28% 17% n/a
    Mt San Antonio College Public 32% n/a n/a
    MTI College For-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Musicians Institute For-profit 35% 32% n/a
    National Career College For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    National Holistic Institute For-profit 28% n/a n/a
    National University Non-profit 32% n/a 39%
    New York Film Academy For-profit 35% n/a n/a
    North Adrian’s College of Beauty Inc For-profit 46% n/a n/a
    Northcentral University Non-profit n/a n/a 37%
    North-West College-Pomona For-profit 24% n/a n/a
    North-West College-Van Nuys For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    North-West College-West Covina For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Notre Dame de Namur University Non-profit 26% 32% 47%
    NTMA Training Centers of Southern California Non-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Occidental College Non-profit 14% n/a n/a
    Orange Coast College Public 29% n/a n/a
    Otis College of Art and Design Non-profit 27% 32% n/a
    Pacific College For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Pacific College of Health and Science For-profit 42% n/a 47%
    Pacific Oaks College Non-profit 30% n/a n/a
    Pacific Union College Non-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Pacifica Graduate Institute For-profit n/a n/a 47%
    Palo Alto University Non-profit n/a n/a 47%
    Palomar College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Palomar Institute of Cosmetology For-profit 22% n/a n/a
    Pasadena City College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-East Bay For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Fresno For-profit 41% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Modesto For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Pasadena For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Sacramento For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Sherman Oaks For-profit 27% n/a n/a
    Paul Mitchell the School-Temecula For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    Pepperdine University Non-profit 20% 22% 39%
    Pima Medical Institute-Chula Vista For-profit 29% 20% n/a
    Pitzer College Non-profit 17% n/a n/a
    Platt College-Los Angeles For-profit 34% n/a n/a
    Point Loma Nazarene University Non-profit 19% 27% n/a
    Premiere Career College For-profit 29% n/a n/a
    Reedley College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Relay Graduate School of Education – California Non-profit n/a n/a 37%
    Riverside City College Public 34% n/a n/a
    Sacramento City College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Saddleback College Public 30% n/a n/a
    SAE Expression College For-profit 42% n/a n/a
    Saint Mary’s College of California Non-profit 19% 37% 32%
    Salon Success Academy-Corona For-profit 42% n/a n/a
    Salon Success Academy-Upland For-profit 36% n/a n/a
    Samuel Merritt University Non-profit 8% n/a 36%
    San Diego Christian College Non-profit 32% n/a n/a
    San Diego City College Public 41% n/a n/a
    San Diego Mesa College Public 33% n/a n/a
    San Diego Miramar College Public 32% n/a n/a
    San Diego State University Public 21% 16% 38%
    San Francisco Art Institute Non-profit 32% n/a n/a
    San Francisco Institute of Esthetics & Cosmetology Inc For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    San Francisco State University Public 24% 22% 35%
    San Joaquin Delta College Public 46% n/a n/a
    San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia For-profit 42% 22% n/a
    San Jose City College Public 42% n/a n/a
    San Jose State University Public 18% 14% 33%
    Santa Ana College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Santa Barbara Business College-Bakersfield For-profit 45% n/a n/a
    Santa Barbara Business College-Santa Maria For-profit 34% n/a n/a
    Santa Barbara City College Public 36% n/a n/a
    Santa Clara University Non-profit 9% 27% n/a
    Santa Monica College Public 33% n/a n/a
    Santa Rosa Junior College Public 31% n/a n/a
    Saybrook University Non-profit n/a n/a 37%
    Shasta College Public 39% n/a n/a
    Sierra College Public 40% n/a n/a
    Simpson University Non-profit 20% n/a n/a
    Solano Community College Public 42% n/a n/a
    Sonoma State University Public 21% 14% 37%
    South Baylo University Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    South Coast College For-profit 42% n/a n/a
    Southern California Health Institute For-profit 39% n/a n/a
    Southern California Institute of Technology For-profit 23% n/a n/a
    Southern California University of Health Sciences Non-profit n/a n/a 47%
    Southwestern College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Southwestern Law School Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    Stanbridge University For-profit 20% n/a n/a
    Stanford University Non-profit 12% n/a 17%
    SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary Non-profit 47% n/a n/a
    Summit College For-profit 37% n/a n/a
    The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Anaheim Non-profit 32% n/a n/a
    The Master’s University and Seminary Non-profit 12% n/a n/a
    Thomas Jefferson School of Law Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Touro University California Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Touro University Worldwide Non-profit n/a n/a 32%
    Trident University International For-profit 32% n/a 33%
    Trinity Law School Non-profit 31% n/a 38%
    UEI College-Fresno For-profit 50% 37% n/a
    UEI College-Gardena For-profit 46% 22% n/a
    United Education Institute-Huntington Park Campus For-profit 45% 37% n/a
    United States University For-profit 42% n/a n/a
    Unitek College For-profit 21% 17% n/a
    Universal Technical Institute of California Inc For-profit 37% 22% n/a
    Universal Technical Institute of Northern California Inc For-profit 38% 22% n/a
    University of Antelope Valley For-profit 31% n/a n/a
    University of California-Berkeley Public 13% 14% 30%
    University of California-Davis Public 12% 13% 37%
    University of California-Hastings College of Law Public n/a n/a n/a
    University of California-Irvine Public 15% 14% 37%
    University of California-Los Angeles Public 15% 18% 33%
    University of California-Merced Public 20% 18% n/a
    University of California-Riverside Public 22% 19% n/a
    University of California-San Diego Public 13% 12% 31%
    University of California-San Francisco Public n/a n/a 32%
    University of California-Santa Barbara Public 16% 19% 28%
    University of California-Santa Cruz Public 20% 18% 32%
    University of La Verne Non-profit 30% 27% 41%
    University of Phoenix-California For-profit 43% 35% 42%
    University of Redlands Non-profit 27% 27% 38%
    University of San Diego Non-profit 16% 24% n/a
    University of San Francisco Non-profit 19% 22% 41%
    University of Southern California Non-profit 16% 25% n/a
    University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences For-profit n/a n/a 32%
    University of the Pacific Non-profit 19% 22% n/a
    Vanguard University of Southern California Non-profit 26% 27% n/a
    Ventura College Public 37% n/a n/a
    Victor Valley College Public 46% n/a n/a
    West Coast Ultrasound Institute For-profit 32% n/a n/a
    West Coast University-Los Angeles For-profit 25% 30% 32%
    West Hills College-Coalinga Public 47% n/a n/a
    West Hills College-Lemoore Public 42% n/a n/a
    West Los Angeles College Public 32% n/a n/a
    Western University of Health Sciences Non-profit n/a n/a n/a
    Westmont College Non-profit 12% n/a n/a
    Whittier College Non-profit 29% 32% n/a
    William Jessup University Non-profit 24% n/a n/a
    Woodbury University Non-profit 37% 27% n/a

    Source: College Scorecard

    One fix the department has worked on is the loan forgiveness program for borrowers working in public service, which would help educators like Brooks. Prior to the pandemic, even people who were eligible for forgiveness were denied, Kvaal said, which is why fewer than 7,000 people saw forgiveness. Since the Biden Administration announced changes to the program, so far up to 660,000 people have had their loans forgiven through public service. 

    The Biden administration’s new repayment plan can also significantly cut loan payments or reduce them to $0, Kvaal said, adding that, so far, 4 million people have enrolled in the plan.  

    Kvaal said the administration is looking at other options.

    “The president has asked us to offer loan forgiveness to as many people as possible and as quickly as possible,” Kvaal said. “We’re telling students it’s time for them to repay. At the same time, we’re doing everything we can to reform the student loan program to make sure that students have access to the loan forgiveness that they have earned … and that people are taking advantage of the most affordable payment plan that has ever been created.”

    Kvaal said the Education Department is also looking into the amount of debt that comes out of for-profit programs, online graduate programs and the Parent Plus loan program. 

    Granville, from The Century Foundation, also has national recommendations. For example, Congress should lower the interest rate on student loans. According to The Debt Collective, Congress sets the interest rates for federal student loans. Those rates are tied to the 10-year Treasury note. Because the Federal Reserve has recently been increasing rates, the treasury bond rate has increased and so has the rate for new student loans. 

    The current fixed rates for new undergraduate loans are at 5.5%, for graduate, 7.05% for professional unsubsidized loans, and 8.05% for Parent Plus and Grad Plus loans.

    At the state and local level, Granville said that loan counseling needs to significantly change. Much of the responsibility for understanding student loans is often put on 18- and 19-year-olds, who may be the first in their families to go to college, Granville said. 

    “The first answer is more grant aid for students so that we can reach a debt-free financing system, not just because it helps students as individuals, but because it helps the state,” he said. “We also haven’t done a great job setting up students for success despite all of their own personal investment in education. We can rectify that situation through more generous repayment plans, but we also need to make sure that we’re giving students high-quality options so they don’t need as much debt in the first place.” 

    For Brooks, the high school principal with student debt, the ultimate solution is free education. 

    “If you go to college, you’re stricken with debt,” Brooks said. “If you don’t go to college, then you don’t have a livable wage or enough money to survive. You have to do something.” 

    And college tuition in California, prior to the mid-1980’s was free, she said. 

    “I’m of the mindset that education is a public good and it serves everyone to have a highly educated populace,” Brooks said. “It should be free altogether.”





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  • West Contra Costa student school board members among few in California to be paid

    West Contra Costa student school board members among few in California to be paid


    Jorge Espinoza Jr., left, and Luke Wilson are the first two student board members in West Contra Costa to be compensated for the job.

    Courtesy of Jorge Espinoza Jr. and Luke Wilson

    West Contra Costa Unified School District students Jorge Espinoza Jr. and Luke Wilson have a seat and voice at a table that most students don’t have regular access to. 

    For the last five months, they’ve been sitting next to school board trustees at the dais, asking top administrators accountability questions and making recommendations on what could improve student experiences in the classroom. 

    On top of that, they are the first two students in the district to be paid for this work. 

    “It definitely has been an experience,” Espinoza said. “It’s been a journey – one that I would never want to change.” 

    “I believe I’ve learned so much, not only just being a board member, especially as a student, but also getting to engage with my community, engaging with the cabinet and what they do and seeing and learning all these things that go on within the board.” 

    Although many districts in California have student board member positions, it’s rare for them to be paid, said Troy Flint, spokesperson for the California School Boards Association. This school year, West Contra Costa Unified became one of the few in the state that pays its student board members. 

    School districts, including West Contra Costa, moved to pay board members after the 2023 passage of Assembly Bill 275, a state law that allows districts to pay or offer course credits to student board members. The West Contra Costa school board passed the resolution last July and updated and reapproved it last month to comply with the law. 

    Flint said that “the concept of involving student board members more fully, including compensating them in some very rare cases, is gaining momentum … (and) breaks from traditional practices where student board members were not supported to the same degree we’ve seen become more common with this recent generation.” 

    Historically, it’s been difficult to recruit students to be student board members, said West Contra Costa board member Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy. Various West Contra Costa Unified school board members had said publicly that they believed including compensation and course credits would motivate a more diverse population of students to apply. They pointed to the time commitment the students must make. Typically, board meetings start at 6:30 p.m. and last between three and five hours — time that students could use to work for pay, study or participate in an internship.

    “It’s a commitment, and many students in our high schools have to not just take care of their own family, but they have to work,” Gonzalez-Hoy said. “Having to do a volunteer position for our students is a big ask.”

    In West Contra Costa, at least one of the two student board members must be from a school with 60% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, which was an effort to ensure representation from schools in less affluent areas of the district, Gonzalez-Hoy said. Students are paid $150 for every board meeting they attend and $100 for each agenda review meeting and board study session. Students also receive elective course credits. 

    There are typically two board meetings and an agenda review meeting per month, Gonzalez-Hoy said. The number of study sessions varies based on the business of the district. 

    “They won’t have to choose between a paycheck and being in this (student board member) position, but also they won’t have to choose between their studies and working,” Gonzalez-Hoy said.

    Espinoza and Wilson just wrapped up their one-semester term, and the new student board members will be announced and sworn in at the Feb. 12 board meeting. 

    Wilson, who attends El Cerrito High School, is also a student board member of the Contra Costa County Office of Education, a term that lasts the whole school year. He suggested West Contra Costa should do the same.

    “I believe that having two student board members elected for one whole year would actually be a better benefit for all students because of that momentum not being lost,” Wilson said. “One semester really doesn’t make sense in terms of that momentum and actually picking up a grasp on how the meetings run. But then you’re out when you get that grasp.”

    Gonzalez-Hoy said the board is considering all student feedback to make the student board member experience as beneficial as possible. 

    Last year, San Diego and Palm Springs school districts passed resolutions similar to West Contra Costa’s. San Diego students receive elective course credit and are paid $1,736 per month, the amount paid to other board members in the district.  Student board members in Palm Springs are paid about $296 monthly, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun. 

    Board members historically receive low wages 

    Paying student trustees is not very popular, especially now with many school districts dealing with declines in enrollment, school closures and budget cuts, resulting in a lack of available funds. Most board members serving on school boards around the state are paid low wages.

    The amount of money board members receive in California depends on the average daily attendance in the district. Average daily attendance — which is different from overall student enrollment — is calculated by taking the total number of student attendance days and dividing by the number of school days in the year.

    In a district like West Contra Costa, where average daily attendance was about 23,400 in the 2023-24 school year, regular board members make up to $400 a month.

    Board members in districts with 25,000 to 60,000 students receive up to $750 monthly. In districts with 1,000 to 10,000 students, board members receive up to $240 monthly. In the smaller districts with 1,000 or fewer students but more than 150, trustees receive up to $120 a month. Those in districts with less than 150 students only make up to $60 a month. 

    There’s a stark difference in pay for board members in larger districts with more than 250,000 students. According to the state education code, compensation in those districts is set by municipalities.

    For example, board members in the Los Angeles Unified School District, serving more than 500,000 students, receive $125,000 annually if they don’t have another job and $50,000 if they do.

    Some states, like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, do not allow compensation for board members, and the elected board members are volunteers. 

    Empowering students

    Espinoza and Wilson’s top priority this year is to create a student bill of rights that will eventually be posted in every classroom. 

    “The reason for this is to empower students to not only know their rights but to also have respect and accountability, not just within students but all of our staff as well,” said Espinoza, who attends Middle College High School. 

    Incoming student board members will take over the process of finalizing the bill of rights through outreach and surveys. 

    Another change Espinoza and Wilson spearheaded was to include the All Student Congress — a group of middle and high students, nominated by their schools — in discussions about the Local Control Accountability Plan, a document that outlines how the district should be spending money. Student feedback will then go to an advisory committee made up of parents and community members.

    Students need to be part of the All Student Congress to qualify for the student board member position. The student congress also elects both student board members. 

    Espinoza Jr. and Wilson also helped draft “Educational Response to the Climate Emergency,” a resolution to help implement climate literacy in West Contra Costa schools and to help students graduate with a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change and possible solutions. The resolution could include a climate literacy curriculum and professional development for educators.

    Other goals Espinoza and Wilson have that will be passed on to the incoming student trustees are to implement a Student Advisory Panel, have more student trustee engagement, and have career technical education programs for students in grades K-8. 

    Wilson’s advice to would-be student board members is to “go into it with an open mind in terms of when you’re listening to the adults and frequently  … you’ll hear debates, you’ll hear people not agreeing with each other. And before you just immediately pick a side, try and hear both sides.” 

    Espinoza said future student board members shouldn’t be shy or let the complex jargon and policies hinder them from applying. 

    “You’re there for a reason,” Espinoza said. “These adults, they’re here to serve us, and as students, we’re here to represent the students’ voices directly as well.”





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  • Academic gaps ‘allowed to linger’ among California’s Black students over past decade, report says

    Academic gaps ‘allowed to linger’ among California’s Black students over past decade, report says


    Aleka Jackson-Jarrell, coordinator of the Heritage Program at Adelanto High in California’s High Desert, regularly meets with Black students to make sure they stay on track to graduate and meet A-G requirements that enable them to apply to a public university.

    Emma Gallegos/EdSource

    In the areas of chronic absenteeism, suspension and reading proficiency, the rates for Black students in California remain largely the same as they were a decade ago. That is the focus of a new report, Black Minds Matter 2025, which provides new insight and recommendations on education for Black students in California a decade after the first iteration of the report was published by Education Trust-West.

    “This report really meets the moment that we’re in when we’re seeing so many cuts to education funding and programs that are inevitably going to impact Black students,” said Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey, director of research at the prominent nonprofit behind the report that advocates for equity in education.

    Ten years ago, Black students were nearly three times more likely than white students to be suspended, and while suspension rates among Black students have since declined from 14% to 9%, the rate is still three times higher than white students, according to data from the California Department of Education included in the report. The chronic absenteeism rates are similar: in 2016-17, Black students had the second-highest rate of chronic absenteeism of any student group, just under Native American students — a statistic that remained the same in 2023-24.

    “None of the opportunity gaps or outcome gaps explored in this report are new — all have been allowed to linger over the past decade,” concluded the report authors.

    Black students represent about 5% of California’s student population from transitional kindergarten to 12th grade. That totals about 287,400 students, with about a third of them living in Los Angeles County, per 2023-24 state data. About 150,000 Black students are enrolled at institutions of higher education, both public and private.

    “We constantly have in the front of our minds that there are students and families and communities behind every single data point,” said Valenzuela-Stookey. “For that reason, it felt really important to not mince words and just bring to bear the information that we have about what conditions students and families are facing and are up against; despite the fact that they enter those systems with really ambitious aspirations, something is pushing against them, and that something is systemic.”

    The “ambitious aspirations” Valenzuela-Stookey mentioned refers to a finding by The United Negro College Fund in which 9 in 10 Black students agreed that earning a college degree is important, plus additional studies that found Black parents “are highly engaged and invested in their children’s educations, particularly in the early years,” per the report.

    The report, published Thursday, highlights multiple key findings, including:

    • The percentage of Black students in California at grade level in math increased from 16% to 18% in the decade since 2015-16 but has remained the lowest of all student groups
    • The gap between California’s Black and white students who have met or exceeded the state’s reading proficiency exams, known as California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, has not changed significantly since 1998
    • Three in 4 Black students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, which is 13 percentage points higher than the statewide average
    • The rate of Black students completing A-G course sequences in high school, which are required to attend the University of California and California State University systems, has increased by just 4 percentage points in the last decade
    • While the number of Black children enrolled in transitional kindergarten more than doubled from 2021 to 2023-24, the rate still makes up less than half of the number of Black 4-year-olds who are eligible to enroll
    • Black elementary school students report feeling sadness more frequently than any other student group
    • The number of Black teachers remained disproportionately lower than the share of Black students statewide; just over a quarter of school districts employ Black teachers at a rate proportionate to their Black student population
    • The rate at which Black students participate in dual enrollment increased by only 6 percentage points in the last seven school years, from about 11% to nearly 17%, while other student groups increased between 8 and 14 percentage points
    • Black college students in California face the highest rates of food and housing insecurity

    “This status quo is not an accident — it is the consequence of systems designed to produce unequal outcomes operating largely unchecked for centuries,” the report’s authors wrote. “It is also the consequence of incremental changes made in place of what’s called for: much more fundamental transformation.”

    A deeper look into some of the data cited in the report reveals alarming trends. For example, dual enrollment rates increased among all student racial groups between 2015-16 and 2021-22, per an analysis of state data by Policy Analysis for California Education, but Black students recorded the lowest rate of growth — at nearly 17% in 2021-22, just under the rate of dual enrollment participation for Asian students in 2015-16.

    Also, according to data from the California Community Colleges, within their first year in community college, Black students were completing and passing transfer-level coursework at a rate lower than their peers, with a difference of 30 percentage points between Asian students at 77% and Black students at 47%.

    While the report’s authors acknowledged the pandemic exacerbated some of the academic gaps, many existed long before Covid lockdowns began, and the data included in the report reflected that longevity. “It was really important for us to make sure that people had a long view of how entrenched these systemic inequities are because the solutions to them should follow from how long they’ve been baked into our systems,” said Valenzuela-Stookey.

    In addition to sharing the stark disparities, the report’s authors highlighted a handful of programs and initiatives they believe are working to close the gaps.

    These include a teacher residency program called The Village Initiative and created in collaboration with the Watts of Power Foundation; Los Angeles Unified School District; and California State University, Dominguez Hills. Fifteen Black male teachers were part of the program in 2023, and the partnership estimates they will place 113 fully credentialed, Black teachers in school over the next decade.

    Farther north, at Berkeley High School, the campus’ African American Studies Department is credited for the high rate of graduating within four years among the Black student population, at nearly 95% in the latest school year, compared to the statewide average of just over 86%.

    One of the overarching recommendations proposed by the authors was the creation of a Commission on Black Education Transformation, made up in part by Black students, parents and educators. This would be a standing state commission with the authority to make actionable decisions, including the allocation of resources to ensure follow-through from state and local agencies on policies related to academic progress for Black students.

    Other recommendations include:

    • Mandating that all high schools incorporate the 15-course A-G curriculum required for eligibility to the UC and CSU systems
    • Increasing award amounts for the existing Cal Grant program to aid students with non-tuition costs
    • Prioritizing the hiring and retention of Black educators in both TK-12 and higher education
    • Expanding pandemic-era supports, such as before- and after-school programming and academic tutoring
    • Requiring that all school staff receive training to end the disproportionate impact on Black students of punitive disciplinary practices
    • Modifying the state’s Local Control Funding Formula to target funds based on an index of metrics such as levels of adult educational attainment and homeownership rates
    • Instructing school districts to report “evidence-based strategies” aimed at supporting Black students in their Local Control and Accountability Plans

    Valenzuela-Stookey noted that her team sees both the progress and persistent gaps over the last decade “as a reminder that policy change is just the first step in closing a lot of these opportunity gaps that are highlighted in the report, and implementation and on-the-ground practice work is really the necessary next step if any of that is to come to fruition.”





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