A growing number of students need to borrow — and borrow heavily — to finance their college educations. And giving them more information about their debt may help change their borrowing habits. Research suggests that students say no to loans when they’re told how much they’re borrowing and how loans could weigh on them in the future.

But the approach carries risks, too. In some cases, borrowing less may make it harder for students to graduate. They might have to spend more time working and less time studying. Or they might opt for less expensive institutions that do less to guide them.

Although IU officials think financial literacy makes a difference, they haven’t actually proven that the letters — or any other initiative — drove borrowing down.

“From a research perspective, we haven’t gotten to the point where we can say it had an impact,” said Victor Borden, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at IU Bloomington. He and a team of researchers are scouring data to find out exactly what worked.