Student Loan Default: Moving Beyond the For-Profit Sector

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Federal Aid Programming Effects: Fees, Work Study, and Loan Default

Abstract

Using institution-level data from 4,140 public, private, and for-profit U.S. colleges, this study explores various institutional characteristics associated with Cohort Default Rates. Framed in the context of how colleges affect students, this study posits that students’ ability to repay their loan debts upon leaving colleges is an alternative measure of “student success.” Preliminary results suggest various financial, enrollment, and institutional profiles beyond sector and control can serve as predictors of student loan default. As new federal default rules take effect in 2012, these findings may be informative to campus leaders, policy analysts, and researchers interested in understanding alternative factors associated with default rates.

Author

• Nicholas Hillman, University of Wisconsin - Madison