STUDENT DEBT IS LOWER IN ARIZONA

While student debt is a significant concern in Arizona and throughout our nation, Arizona remains a low debt state.

According to the Arizona Board of Regents Financial Aid Report, average debt at graduation for all undergraduate students was $13,814 and $26,056 for graduate students at Arizona’s public universities in 2015-16. For students with debt, the amount was $23,684 for undergraduates and $49,430 for graduate students.  According to the Student Debt and the Class of 2015, Arizona ranks eighth in the nation for low-debt states (based on voluntarily reported data from public and nonprofit four-year colleges).

Delivering an affordable and quality education is at the center of the Arizona Board of Regents’ strategic plan that sets forth goals to increase degree attainment. Increasing the state’s share of educating Arizona’s resident students to a 50-50 split with the universities will provide greater financial flexibility for the institutions that will benefit students – Arizona’s future workforce. As recently as 2008, the state provided 72 percent of the cost of educating a resident student. Today, about 34 percent is covered by the state.

Institutional aid provided by the universities is a major factor in minimizing the effects of tuition increases. Since FY 2010, students receiving institutional aid increased 28 percent, from 66,780 to 93,279 students.
Average Debt