Chronicle of Higher Ed finds student-loan default rate undercounted

As Congressional scrutiny of higher loan-default rates among students at for-profit college increases, Kelly E. Field of The Chronicle of Higher Education requested unpublished data and found a default rate that was even higher than had been previously reported. She knew that the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid division tracked student-loan defaults. So she set up her criteria and requested the unreported data. Her story says:

“According to unpublished data obtained by The Chronicle, one in every five government loans that entered repayment in 1995 has gone into default. The default rate is higher for loans made to students from two-year colleges, and higher still, reaching 40 percent, for those who attended for-profit institutions.”

Today’s Tip: Know what data is available and be specific in your request, Kelly says.

Kelly says her story provides a comprehensive look at student-loan repayments over 15 years. Most reports about student-loan defaults reflect the percentage of borrowers who default in the first two years of repayment, she says. To get a broader look, she requested the 15-year data. She says reporters need to be very specific and targeted in their data requests. They also need to prioritize how they’d like the information and be flexible. For instance, she says she prioritized her request saying she wanted information based on borrowers, but her next acceptable format would be based on loans.

For other tips on requesting public records, check out University of Arizona journalism professor David Cuillier’s advice, as well as my post on The Seattle Times’ series on elder abuse in nursing homes.