The Typical College Student Is Not Who You Think

As a fight over the future of elite higher education consumes university leaders and politicians, most college students live in a very different world with very different challenges.

Community College

• 43 percent of undergraduates attend community college
• About 75 percent of community college students are enrolled part time

Demographics

• 1.4 million undergraduate students with children are single mothers
• 9 % of US undergraduate population
• 25 percent of all undergraduate students live with their parents
• Only 16 % live on campus

Online Learning

• 10.3 million students take at least some classes online
• 26 percent of students take classes exclusively online
• up from 11% 10 years ago.

Student Debt

• The average student is $19,000 in debt
• Up from $13,000 two decades ago, with adjustments for inflation
• 10.8 million students owe more than $44,000
• Two-thirds of student loan debt belong to women
• Black women have the highest debt load, with an average of $33,000.
• 3 X  the amount  of white men are carrying, and $15,000 more than white women
• About a third of all undergraduate students received a Pell Grant

Success

• 41 million people (12% of the US Population) attended college but never graduated

Blinder, A. (2025, August 25). The Typical College Student is Not Who You Think. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/us-typical-college-student.html?unlocked_article_code=1.g08.-Fff.cnL2cbdddkMB&smid=url-share

Regular Substantive Interaction: Empire State College

A resource from Empire State College regarding "regular substantive interaction".

The U.S. Department of Education issued Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation in September 2020, with the rules going into effect on July 1, 2021. The new regulations update the definitions of distance and correspondence education with the intent to provide more clarity on the differences between these two modes of course delivery. The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) include regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors. In short, regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is one of the key elements distinguishing distance education from correspondence education and thus one of the central determinates for students’ ability to use Title IV funds.

Four other critical factors distinguishing distance education from correspondence education are as follows:

• “Distance education should be delivered through an “appropriate” form of online media.
• Distance education must use instructor or instructors that meet accreditor requirements for instruction in the subject matter.
• There should be at least two forms of substantive interaction.
• There must be “scheduled and predictable” opportunities for instructor/student interaction.
• Instructors must be responsive to students’ requests for support” (U.S. Department of Education Issues Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation | NC-SARA, 2020))

(SUNY Empire State College (n.d.). Background: Definitions of distance education and correspondence courses. Faculty Resources for Online Learning. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.esc.edu/dlis/design-your-course/regular-and-substantive-interaction/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20regular%20and%20substantive,to%20use%20Title%20IV%20funds.\)

ICCB Reports and Publications

Illinois Community College Board has a web page with all the reports they generate over the course of the year, along with archives of those same reports.  A great place to start looking for data regarding many of the initiatives on which community colleges in the state are focused.  Under Student Reports, you will find:

• Dual Credit
• Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment
• Distance Education
• Fall Enrollment Reports
• Follow-up Study of CTE Program Graduates
• High School to College Success Reports
• Licensure Pass Rates
• Spring Enrollment Reports