Kellee Gunderson

If you are actively working to bring down a high cohort default rate with a small staff, you have likely faced numerous frustrations – the inability to complete preventative phone calls to students ending a deferment or forbearance; insufficient contact with students during the grace period; and increasing numbers of students in the 30-90 days past due range who simply are not receiving enough attention.

Often, schools with high default rates operate in crisis mode- we call the most delinquent students as often as we can manage, focusing on late-stage cures. Depending on the size of your staff and… >>>

Over the weekend, I saw a travelling comedy troupe at a local festival. At a point in the performance where the actors were doing particularly embarrassing things for our entertainment, one joked about having a Master of Fine Arts degree but scraping together a living off tips at small events.  Then they made a joke that I have heard all too often- stay in school for ever and you’ll never have to pay back your loans.

And so today we have met the final student in our tale- borrower number three is the perpetual student.

The perpetual student has… >>>

Student number two is a pretend student. Believe it or not, I have met several educated adults who, when facing large credit card debt and car or mortgage delinquencies, enroll in school just to collect federal student loan funds.

These ill-informed people wish to solve a debt problem by taking on more debt, and they feel this is a good idea mainly because they don’t take student loans seriously. Too often I have heard people flippantly refer to student loans as debt that you don’t really have to pay back, either because they falsely believe that loans can be… >>>

Over the next three weeks, I would like to introduce you to three student loan borrowers whom I have met many times while pursuing my own education. While the academic programs and enrollment practices at our institutions may differ greatly, chances are that at least one of these problem students poses a threat to your cohort default rate.

First, there is the enthusiastically lost student.

This person is well-intentioned, and excited about being in school. She has no clear career goals, but she knows from watching the news that a degree, diploma or certificate is important for securing a… >>>

In a November FSA webinar, we were encouraged to consider many factors that can lead to default. While we often discuss the efficacy of exit interviews and strategies for contacting students once they are already delinquent, it was interesting to shift focus to the very early phases of enrollment, namely college preparedness and program selection. To address these topics, the goal of default prevention evolves out of the Financial Aid office and is embraced by entire institution. Every department, from Admissions to faculty, has a vested interest in the financial success of the organization and the personal success of every… >>>