This is almost an evergreen but, yes college debt levels rose again this year. According to a report released yesterday from the Project on Student Debt at the Institute for College Access and Success:
The average student debt climbs to $26,600 for class of 2011.
Two-thirds of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 per borrower. Meanwhile, unemployment for young college graduates remained high at 8.8 percent in 2011.
Average student debt last year was $25,250. Despite constant worry about too much education debt, it just keeps growing.