A new report finds that student debt remains a major financial issue for state residents.
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale breaks down the numbers.
“The average debt per borrower stands at nearly $37,000, the second highest level in the entire nation,” DePasquale said.
DePasquale’s report also says Pennsylvania carries about $68 billion in student loan debt.
“There’s a couple of reasons for this,” DePasquale said. “(One) obviously we’re a larger state. Number two: the cost of our higher education for in-state students at our state related universities, and even our state owned universities are some of the highest in the country.”
DePasquale says that the general assembly should create an independent office of student loan advocates, which he argues would help give borrowers a voice at the highest level of state government.
