Education · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about higher education and academia in the U.S., each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answer3,931 institutions
About 3,931 degree-granting institutions operated in 2020, down from a peak of 4,726 in 2012 amid closures and mergers.
Source: Wikipedia, Higher education in the United States (2020) en.wikipedia.org
Answerover 1.7 trillion dollars
Student debt topped 1.7 trillion dollars by 2021, more than the total in 2016, when it was already estimated at 1.4 trillion dollars.
Source: Wikipedia, Higher education in the United States (2021) en.wikipedia.org
Answer34%
While most 27-year-olds had attended some college, only about a third had actually completed a bachelor's degree.
Source: Wikipedia, Higher education in the United States (2012) en.wikipedia.org
Answer2.2 million
Community colleges lost about 2.2 million students from their peak enrollment around 2010-11.
Source: Wikipedia, Higher education in the United States (2022) en.wikipedia.org