THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603230247
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Most Virginia colleges and trade schools, following the national trend, posted slight declines in student loan default rates, according to federal statistics released Friday.
But two of the area's largest trade schools showed increases in the rates, which represent the percentage of borrowers of federal loans who were in default in 1993. Computer Dynamics Institute went from 34 percent to 38 percent, the fifth-highest rate in Virginia, and Commonwealth College rose from 28.8 percent to 29.9 percent.
Maritza Samoorian, the president of Commonwealth, said Friday that the school had appealed to the U.S. Department of Education to recalculate the number. The school's actual rate ``is considerably lower than what was published,'' she said, but she declined to elaborate.
``I think the default rates aren't the thing that should be looked at to look at quality institutions,'' she said. ``Let's look at outcomes; let's take a look at graduation rates or placement rates.''
The state's highest default rate occurred at the Portsmouth School of Beauty Culture, at 46.1 percent, according to the federal report. But the school's operator, Linda Pegram, said that the beauty school has not participated in the loan program for at least three years and that her numbers were incorrect. The school was listed as having from 12 to 43 borrowers in each of the past three years.
The U.S. Department of Education listed the beauty school with four defaulters in 1993, but, Pegram said, there were only two. ``I have two little defaults at $1,800,'' she said, ``and yet other schools have thousands and thousands of dollars in defaults. . . . It irritates me to no end to even have to discuss this.''
Among four-year schools in Hampton Roads, Norfolk State University had the highest rate, at 20.2 percent. Tidewater Community College's rate was 13.4 percent, and Old Dominion University's was 5.2 percent.
The federal government has kept a closer watch on default numbers in recent years, contending that high rates reflect poor preparation of students and that taxpayers are losing millions of dollars as a result.
But advocates of the trade schools, which generally have higher default rates than four-year and community colleges, have contended that the statistics are often inaccurate. They have also said that their graduates tend to be low-income adults, who are more likely to suffer during economic downturns and be less able to pay back loans.
``In many ways, that figure can tell you a little bit - not everything - of the nature of the school and its student body,'' said Martha E. Rogers, vice president for enrollment management at Virginia Wesleyan College, which had a 6.9 percent default rate. ``Within the profession, if you can stay under 20 percent, you're doing very well. . . .
``We have been given the responsibility to award those (federal) funds where there is, in our professional judgment, a likelihood that those loans will be repaid and that those students will use those funds wisely.''
But Rogers cautioned against making judgments about schools with rates within a few percentage points of each other. In Wesleyan's case, the rate rose from 5.1 percent in 1992. The school had 39 fewer borrowers, but three more defaulters, in 1993.
``To explain why three more students defaulted than a year before is impossible,'' she said.
Across the country, the default rate for all schools fell from 15 percent in 1992 to 11.6 percent in 1993, the education department said. Virginia's overall rate was slightly higher in 1993, at 11.8 percent.
The overall default rate for trade schools in the United States dropped from 30.2 percent to 23.9 percent. For public four-year colleges, it stayed roughly even, going from 7 percent to 6.9 percent.
``Of course these rates are much too high,'' U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley said. ``But the trend continues to be in the right direction. The department's tougher oversight measures are having a positive effect.'' MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: A SAMPLE OF DEFAULT RATES
Among larger schools in Hampton Roads:
Norfolk State University 20.2 percent
Tidewater Community College 13.4 percent
Old Dominion University 5.2 percent
by CNB