Student debt set another record this year, as millions of college graduates struggle to pay off education loans and as colleges continue to raise tuition. The trend has prompted new proposals, including some from Democratic presidential candidates, to ease debt burdens for millions of student borrowers. Admissions fraud is drawing new scrutiny after dozens of people were charged in March with participating in a scheme aimed at helping children from wealthy families win acceptance to top colleges. The Trump administration is rolling back Obama-era rules scrutinizing for-profit colleges, even as critics say that some for-profit institutions have defrauded students by misrepresenting their records placing graduates in jobs. The issue of affirmative action in college admissions is expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court after Asian-American applicants accused Harvard of discrimination.

Students earning degrees at Pasadena City College participate in the graduation ceremony on June 14 in Pasadena, Calif. About 45 million student loan borrowers owe a record $1.6 trillion, and many say they put off saving for retirement or buying a house to afford payments. (AFP/Getty Images/Robyn Beck)

Student loan debt — and the number of Americans defaulting on loans taken out to pay for higher education — continues to surge, spurring new moves in the public and private sectors to help borrowers who struggle to make payments.

Outstanding federal and private student loan debt reached a record $1.61 trillion in the second quarter of 2019, up 4.8 percent over the same quarter in 2018. Average student loan debt for those ages 22 to 28 more than tripled between 2017 and this year, from $10,205 to $31,370, according to a Harris Poll survey for TD Ameritrade, a financial services company. About 45 million Americans owe money on student loans. 1