University of California 2009 Accountability Report

Indicator 2.13
Cumulative Debt of Graduating Seniors, 1999-00 to 2007-08

Data visualization. please download the source data for accessible information.

Despite national reports of increasing student debt burden, the percent of UC undergraduates who graduate with student loan debt has declined slightly since 1999. At the same time, the income distribution of UC undergraduates has remained stable (see Indicator 2.8).

Average cumulative debt among graduating seniors has generally declined in constant dollars since 1999. This trend may partly reflect the relatively stagnant annual borrowing limits for federal student loan programs.

These figures reflect trends in students' utilization of student loans. They do not, however, include parental borrowing from federal parent education, home equity or other types of loans. It is too early to tell how the recent economic downturn might affect access to these other loan sources and whether reduced access to parental loans may lead to increased student borrowing in the future.

Source: UCOP Corporate Student System. This system contains data on all degree-seeking students Universitywide.

Figures are in constant 2008 dollars, adjusted for inflation using California CPI-U.

You may view or download a table of the raw data used to generate these charts in CSV files, which can be opened in spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.