The prevalence of default on student loans among an institution’s alumni is regarded as an indicator of the value of its academic program and its ability to administer student financial aid. High default rates result in sanctions; very high default rates preclude participation in the Direct Loan or Pell Grant programs.
Related terms: Administrative capability
See also Subtopics for more specific references.
2021-22 FSA Handbook, Vol. 2, November 2021
ED’s Default Management Website
Cohort Default Rate Guide, September 2020
Cohort Default Rate Guide for Guaranty Agencies and Lenders, 2021
A Closer Look at the Trillion: Borrowing, Repayment and Default at Iowa's Community Colleges (2015)
(Association of Community College Trustees)
Are Student Loan Default Rates Linked to Institutional Capacity?
(Journal of Student Financial Aid)
Behind the Numbers: Making Sense of Cohort Default Rates
(Trellis Company)
Cohort Default Rates: Predicting the Probability of Federal Sanctions
(Educational Policy: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Policy and Practice)
Costs and Risks in the Federal Student Loan Program: How Accountability Policies Can Protect Taxpayers
(American Enterprise Institute)
CDR: What is it Good For? Absolutely Something.
(The Institute for College Access and Success)
Detecting Early Signs of Default Risk at Austin Community College
(Trellis Company)
Digging Deeper: An Analysis of Student Loan Debt in Texas
(Trellis Company)
Do High Cohort Default Rates Affect Student Living Allowances and Debt Burdens? An Empirical Analysis
(Journal of Student Financial Aid)
Does Student Loan Debt Hinder Community Well-Being?
(International Journal of Community Well-Being)
Driving Down Default: How to Strengthen the Cohort Default Rate to Further Reduce Federal Student Loan Default Risk
(The Institute for College Access and Success)
Fault Lines in Borrowing: Academic Outcomes of Students in Default (2020)
(Association of Community College Trustees)
Financial Aid at the Crossroads: Managing the Student Debt Crisis in Texas
(Trellis Company)
Helping Our Students to Help Us
(National Association of College and University Business Officers)
Institutional and State-Level Factors Related to Paying Back Student Loan Debt Among Public, Private, and For-Profit Colleges
(Journal of Student Financial Aid)
Institutional Eligibility AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&As
(National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators)
It’s Time to Move Beyond Cohort Default Rates
(Robert Kelchen, Ph.D.)
Lost in the Trillion: A Three-State Comparison of Community College Borrowing and Default (2017)
(Association of Community College Trustees)
Protecting the Cohort Default Rate from Forbearance Abuse
(The Institute for College Access and Success)
Student Loan Default and Repayment in Kentucky
(Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education)
Student Loan Default Has Serious Financial Consequences
(The Pew Charitable Trusts)
Student Loan Repayment
(Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
TICAS Analysis of Official Three-Year Cohort Default Rates (FY17)
(The Institute for College Access and Success)
Unaffordable Loans: When Should Schools Become Ineligible for Student Loan Programs?
(Urban Institute)
U.S. Student Loans and Debt Levels Set Record: What’s a Legislature to Do?
(National Conference of State Legislatures)
What Works: College Strategies for Reducing Student Loan Default (2020)
(Association of Community College Trustees and The Institute for College Access and Success)
Why the Cohort Default Rate is Insufficient
(Third Way)