With summer break nearing a close, students are expected to return to class in full force. Those attending postsecondary courses at local colleges and universities will be raking up the charges for books, tuition, housing and miscellaneous items.

Students have increased borrowing and working to help pay for higher tuition, according to a study released by the U.S. General Accounting Office. To encourage students to enter the automotive repair industry, shops should offer competitive wages - which requires an understanding of the average student's debt.

At the undergraduate level, the percentage of postsecondary students who had borrowed by the time they completed their programs increased from 41 percent in 1992-93 to 52 percent in 1995-96, and the average amount of debt per student increased from $7,800 to $9,700 in 1995-96. For graduating seniors who had borrowed, the average rose from $10,100 to $13,300; and the portion of these graduates with $20,000 or more of student debt grew from 9 percent to 19 percent during 1995-96.

Students attending four-year public institutions showed the largest increase in the number of borrowers. Sixty percent of seniors graduating from these schools in 1995-96 borrowed at some point in their program, up from 42 percent in 1992-93. Students at two-year public institutions borrowed less often and in lesser amounts. Those students receiving a certificate or award from a two-year proprietary school borrowed an average of $5,171 in 1992-93, which increased to $5,597 in 1995-96.

More full-time graduates worked while attending school in 1995-96 than in 1992-93. More than two-thirds of full-time undergraduate students held jobs during 1995-96, working an average of 23 hours a week while enrolled. Students in associate and certificate or award programs worked the most with 71 percent of the 1995-96 enrollment working an average of 26 hours per week.

Stat Corner is written by Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist. She can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 236.

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