College Affordability Dashboard: Virginia

The College Affordability Dashboard compiles data from multiple sources to help the public compare how state colleges and universities stack up on measures of college affordability and value.

We selected these metrics because we think they represent institutional performance on factors that are important to students and families in making decisions about their investment in higher education. We hope they also inform conversations about policies and practices that make college more affordable for more students. We used the latest publicly available data for these metrics.


Public Four-Year Institutions


Public Four-Year Institutions: Debt-to-Income Ratios by Field of Study

Public Two-Year Institutions

Public Two-Year Institutions: Debt-to-Income Ratios by Field of Study

Private, Nonprofit Institutions

Private, Nonprofit Institutions: Debt-to-Income Ratios by Field of Study

About The Metrics:

Average Net Price

Refers to the average price of attendance at an institution after grants and scholarships are subtracted. This represents the average amount that students and families need to come up with and pay on their own.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS) Student Financial Aid Component (2021-22)

10-year Change in Tuition and Fees

Shows how much tuition and fees have changed for full-time, in-state undergraduates over the past decade.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics Component (2011-12 and 2021-22)

In-State Students Enrolled

Shows how much of an institution’s undergraduate enrollment is made up of students from within the state.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Fall Enrollment Component (Fall 2021)

* Fall 2020 data is listed due to the unavailability of Fall 2021 data due to a change in NCES requires during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pell Grant Recipients

Shows how much of an institution’s total undergraduate enrollment is made up of students who receive Pell grants.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Student Financial Aid Component (2021-22)

Student Borrowers

Shows the percentage of students receiving federal student loans.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, Financial Aid & Debt Component (updated April 25, 2023)

Median Student Debt

Shows the median cumulative federal debt of undergraduate borrowers who graduated. Includes only federal loans and excludes private student loans and Parent PLUS loans.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, Financial Aid & Debt Component (updated April 25, 2023)

5-year Cohort Default Rate

Refers to the proportion of students who take out federal student loans who fail to repay those loans five years after they enter repayment.
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Source: Center for American Progress Analysis of U.S. Department of Education Default Rate Data (For borrowers who started repaying their loans in 2012)

5-year Borrower in Trouble Rate

Refers to the proportion of students who take out federal student loans who are in default, delinquency, or suspension for other reasons five years after they enter repayment.
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Source: Center for American Progress Analysis of U.S. Department of Education Default Rate Data (For borrowers who started repaying their loans in 2012)

Typical Earnings

Shows the median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid 10 years after entering the school.
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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, Typical Earnings Component (updated April 25, 2023)

Economic Mobility

Shows how well an institution provides economic mobility to its students according to Third Way's Economic Mobility Index (EMI) that uses a Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP) metric and factors in the outcomes of low- and moderate-income students.
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Source: Third Way/M. Itzkowitz, "Out With the Old, In With the New: Rating Higher Ed by Economic Mobility," 21 July 2022