The fifth capability of Education Sector’s new Higher Ed Data Central that we would like to highlight (see links for the first, second, third, and fourth capabilities) is the ability to develop input-adjusted measures. For example, the Department of Education recently released student loan default rates by college. A list of colleges with the highest default rates could be compiled, but would bContinue Reading »

Late last week, the Department of Education released its annual update on student loan default rates. Not surprisingly, the overall two-year default rate shot up from 8.8 to 9.1 percent over the course of the last year, and the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other news outlets all ran stories highlighting yet additional evidence of the poor economy and job market, and their impact on Continue Reading »

Moody’s Analytics recently released an analysis of the current status of student lending, including a pessimistic outlook on its future (via Community College Spotlight). While the analysis doesn’t say much that you haven’t already heard here (rising debt levels, increasing default rates, tuition that outpaces inflation&#Continue Reading »

This week I’ve been blogging about ES’s recent report on student loan default rates and the report’s big message–that institutions matter in preventing loan defaults.

But what steps, exactly, can a college or university take to reduce loan defaults? I encourage anyone who wants to answer that question to read the whole report for its many, brilliant insights on deContinue Reading »

Yesterday I blogged about six HBCU’s in Texas that successfully reduced their student loan default rates without changing the students they enroll. These colleges provide an example of what institutions are capable of when resources and attention are focused on reducing loan defaults and increasing student success. But my colleague Robin Smiles and I looked at more than just the story of these Continue Reading »

Education Sector released a super-sized Charts You Can Trust today looking at the past 15 years of financial aid, and the constant growth in student borrowing. Below is Chart 1 from the report, and the trend line is pretty clear. From 1992–93 through the latest NPSAS in 2007–08, the percent of students borrowing has increased nearly every year for every type of institution. In 2007&Continue Reading »

Technical Career Institute, a for-profit college in New York City, has found a new and creative way to keep its students from defaulting on federal student loans–paying off the debt. Inside Higher Ed reports today on an audit report released this week by the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General, which found that TCI paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to loan compContinue Reading »

Inside Higher Ed’s article on student loan “cohort default rates”—the percent of students not repaying their student loans as calculated by the Department of Education—is well worth reading for a good background on how we ended up with the current 2-year calculation. It also talks about the potential implications of a proposed amendment by Rep. Raul Grijalva to change the calculation to a 3-yeaContinue Reading »

At the Higher Education Finance Working Group policy briefing yesterday, the discussion, in true financial aid style, was lively, a little snarky**, and, at times, thoroughly confusing. One area where it did shed some light was the debate over loan auctions in the federal loan program (Inside Higher Ed writes it up here).

In the current system, Congress decides how mucContinue Reading »