ROLE Information Designer
DURATION 1 month
TECHNOLOGY R Stats Package, Illustrator, Photoshop, Webflow
DURATION 1 month
TECHNOLOGY R Stats Package, Illustrator, Photoshop, Webflow
Context:
Across the country, undergraduate and graduate programs burden their students with debt well beyond their post-graduation pay. These same schools have the ability to raise tuition relatively unchecked; legacy branding allows programs with prestige to dictate their own worth.
Simultaneously, the Federal Grad Plus loan program has no ceiling on what students can borrow for tuition, fees, and living expenses. No-limit loans have
become a goldmine for universities wanting to charge
high tuition for low-paying industries.
become a goldmine for universities wanting to charge
high tuition for low-paying industries.
Data provided by the Education Department shows median debt and median income for graduates two years post-graduation in roughly 2015 and 2016. The figures only apply to graduates who borrowed federal loans. The graphics above examine the ratio between early career earnings and federal loan debt.
Graduates of the School of the Art Institute of Chicagoʼs Masters in Fine and Studio Arts program were saddled with around $63,403 in debt; two years after earning their degree, borrowers are earning around $22,055. While SAIC matches or exceeds the debt-to- income ratio of many other MFA programs that make up the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, its undergraduate programs compare relatively well to other similar schools. SAIC is one example of how elite universities have awarded thou- sands of masterʼs degrees that donʼt provide graduates enough early career earnings to begin paying down their debt.
Background research:
I compiled a detailed study of graduate and undergraduate student debt and visualized my analysis through the use of R (Programming language).
I compiled a detailed study of graduate and undergraduate student debt and visualized my analysis through the use of R (Programming language).