United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Ranking Minority Member,

Committee on Economic and

Educational Opportunities, House of

Representatives

January 1997 STUDENT LOANS

Default Rates at

Historically Black

Colleges and

Universities

GAO/HEHS-97-33

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Health, Education, and

Human Services Division

B-275208 

January 21, 1997

The Honorable William L. Clay

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Economic and

 Educational Opportunities

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Clay:

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have a long history of

providing higher education to black students. The first HBCUs were

established before the Civil War. After the war, the establishment of HBCUs

gradually continued; as of fall 1994, 104 HBCUs serve about 281,000

students (see app. I). In 1965, the Congress stressed the importance of

HBCUs, stating that “historically Black colleges and universities have

contributed significantly to the effort to attain equal opportunity through

postsecondary education for Black, low-income, and educationally

disadvantaged Americans.”

Our earlier reports pointed out that HBCUs participating in federal student

loan programs generally experienced high default rates, with nearly

one-third of HBCUs exceeding the statutory default threshold.1 HBCUs have

been legislatively exempt from the statutory threshold requirement that

schools with high default rates lose their eligibility to participate in federal

student loan programs. But the exemption is to expire on July 1, 1998.

When the exemption expires, many HBCUs with high default rates for

student loans could lose their eligibility to participate in federal student

loan programs. Such a loss could make it difficult for students to pay the

cost of attending HBCUs.

In this report, we respond to your request to update the information we

previously reported on default rates at HBCUs. As agreed with your office,

our objectives were to

• determine the dollar amount of major federal student loans made to

students at HBCUs and non-HBCUs;

• identify the most current default rates and the dollar amounts of the

defaults—aggregated by kind of school, such as 2-year or 4-year, public or

1

Student Loans: Default Rates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (GAO/HRD-93-117FS,

Aug. 19, 1993) and Default Rates at HBCUs (GAO/HEHS-94-97R, Mar. 9, 1994).

Page 1 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

private—for student borrowers previously enrolled at HBCUs and

non-HBCUs; and

• estimate the number of HBCUs that could lose their eligibility, in fiscal year

1998, for federal student loan programs because of default rates exceeding

the statutory threshold.

Our universe of schools comprises 98 HBCUs2

 and 3,209 non-HBCUs,

including those that (1) are 2-year or 4-year and public or private schools

and (2) the Department of Education has reported as current participants

in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and William D. Ford Direct

Loan (FDL) programs.3

 The 98 HBCUs represent about 3 percent of our

universe of 2-year or 4-year public or private schools in the FFEL and FDL

programs. We relied on Department information for (1) overall student

loan dollars through fiscal year 1995, (2) the most current default rates for

student loans for HBCU and non-HBCU schools during fiscal years 1991-93,

and (3) actual dollars defaulted in fiscal year 1992. Although we did not

verify the accuracy of data obtained from the Department, its databases

are readily available and can be used by the education community for

similar analyses. We conducted our review between May and October 1996

in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Results in Brief Of the $26.2 billion in federal student loans made in fiscal year 1995,

$731 million (or about 3 percent) in loans were made to students attending

HBCUs. This percentage has remained steady during fiscal years 1991-95.

For fiscal year 1993, the average loan default rate for HBCUs was

21.1 percent, but the average for non-HBCUs was 7.2 percent. These

percentages remained relatively the same throughout fiscal years 1991-93.

In fiscal year 1992, the most current year that the dollars in defaulted

student loans could be measured, HBCUs averaged defaults of $464,209 and

non-HBCUs averaged $119,307. This difference was primarily because the

aggregate default rate for HBCUs was about three times as great as the rate

for non-HBCUs. Whether compared by kind of school or student enrollment,

HBCUs had higher default rates and larger dollar amounts of loans in

default per school than non-HBCUs.

2

The Department currently recognizes 104 HBCUs, but we excluded 6 from our review because default

rates were not available for them. In addition, since all HBCUs are 2-year or 4-year public or private

schools, we excluded from our universe of non-HBCUs all schools in the Department’s database that

are less than 2-year or proprietary. But data on proprietary schools are included in table 1 and app. IV

to provide a broader perspective.

3

These schools were reported by the Department of Education’s Default Management Section in the

fiscal year 1993 official statistics for the cohort default rate.

Page 2 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
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If the default rates for HBCUs remain the same for fiscal years 1994-96 as

they were for fiscal years 1991-93, 22 HBCUs could lose their eligibility for

federal student loan programs in fiscal year 1998, after their exemption

from default rate requirements expires.

Background Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, authorized the

Department of Education to bar postsecondary schools with high “cohort

default rates” from continuing to participate in federal student loan

programs.4

 The cohort default rate is a percentage that results from two

parts: (1) a school’s student loan borrowers who are supposed to repay the

loan in a fiscal year, divided by (2) those borrowers who default by the end

of the following fiscal year.5

 For example, if 100 students from a school

were scheduled to begin repaying their loans in fiscal year 1993 and 25

defaulted on their loans by the end of fiscal year 1994, the school’s fiscal

year 1993 cohort default rate would be 25 percent.

Each year, the Department assesses a school’s eligibility on the basis of its

three most recent available cohort default rates. In fiscal year 1996,

eligibility was based on default rates for fiscal years 1991, 1992, and 1993.

A school remains eligible if its cohort default rate is below the statutory

threshold, currently 25 percent, in at least 1 of the latest 3 consecutive

fiscal years. A school becomes ineligible if its default rate equals or

exceeds the default threshold in all 3 fiscal years.

Students get federal loans from two major programs: the FFEL and FDL

programs, each providing both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Loans

made under FFEL are provided by private lenders and are ultimately

guaranteed against default by the federal government. Loans made under

FDL are provided through schools, and the Department services and

collects loans through contractors. FDL was originally authorized by the

Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325). Since the first loans

under FDL were made in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1994, the fiscal

year 1995 cohort will be the first cohort that could be affected by FDL

defaults.

4

Student borrowers are in default if they fail to make any scheduled payments on their loans for (1) 180

days, if repayment is made monthly, and (2) 240 days, if repayment is made less frequently.

5

If less than 30 student borrowers at a school repay their loans in a given year, the cohort default rate

is the percentage of student borrowers who repaid their loans in the most recent 3 years, but who

defaulted by the end of the fiscal year after repayment.

Page 3 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

In addition to the cohort default rate threshold specified in the Higher

Education Act, the Department has established—through regulation—a

default reduction initiative that includes default rate thresholds applicable

to all schools, including HBCUs. One provision of the initiative specifies that

if a school has a default rate exceeding 20 percent, it must submit to the

Department a default management plan for implementing specific

measures for reducing the rate. Another provision allows the Department

to start procedures to limit, suspend, or terminate a school’s participation

in all title IV federal student aid programs if the school’s cohort default

rate for a single year exceeds 40 percent. The exemption from the

statutory threshold for HBCUs does not extend to these provisions.

HBCUs Account for a

Small Part of Federal

Student Loans

The federal loans to students at 98 HBCUs represent 2.96 percent of our

universe of 2-year or 4-year public or private schools participating in the

FFEL and FDL programs. The federal government provided about $26.2

billion in student loans through the two programs in fiscal year 1995, of

which $731 million (2.8 percent) was loans to students attending HBCUs.

Since fiscal year 1991, the amount of loans to students at HBCUs has

consistently accounted for a small part of all such loans made to

postsecondary students (see fig. 1).

Page 4 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

Figure 1: Percentage of Total FFEL and FDL Dollar Amounts Awarded to HBCU Students, Fiscal Years 1991-95

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

2.8 2.7 2.7 2.62.8

Fiscal Year

Percent

Although the total share of federal student loans to HBCU students has

remained small during fiscal years 1991-95, the dollar amount of these

loans has increased by about 97 percent, from $372 million to $731 million

(see fig. 2).

Page 5 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

Figure 2: Dollar Amount of Loans Under FFEL and FDL to Students Attending HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-95

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

0

200

400

600

800

372

403

473

624

731

Fiscal Year

Millions of Dollars

FFEL

FDL

Note: The 1994 amount includes $1.5 million under the Federal Direct Loan (FDL) program.

Aggregate Default

Rates for HBCUs and

Non-HBCUs Show

Large and Consistent

Differences

In each fiscal year, from 1991 through 1993, the aggregate cohort default

rate for HBCUs was about three times as high as the rate for non-HBCUs.

There was little variation in the rates from year to year, with HBCU rates

ranging from 21.1 to 22.3 percent and non-HBCU rates from 6.9 to

7.4 percent (see fig. 3).

Page 6 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
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Figure 3: Aggregate FFEL Default Rates for HBCUs and Non-HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-93 Cohorts

1991 1992 1993

0

5

10

15

20

25

22.2 22.3

21.1

6.9 7.4 7.2

Fiscal Year

Percent

HBCU

Non-HBCU

For the various types of schools, HBCU default rates are lowest among

4-year private schools (20 percent in fiscal year 1993) and highest among

2-year private schools (42.5 percent) (see table 1). Compared with

non-HBCUs, HBCUs had higher default rates for all kinds of schools (public,

private, 4-year, and 2-year) and in each fiscal year from 1991 through 1993.

Page 7 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
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Table 1: Comparison of FFEL Default

Rates by Kind of School for HBCUs

and Non-HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-93

Cohorts

School FFEL default rates (in percent)

Kind No. 1991 1992 1993

HBCUs

4-year public 40 21.7 22.2 21.4

4-year private 49 21.4 21.8 20.0

2-year public 6 33.4 24.4 23.8

2-year private 3 52.9 38.8 42.5

Non-HBCUs

4-year public 518 5.9 6.3 6.0

4-year private 1,310 5.0 5.7 5.5

2-year public 942 14.1 14.3 14.4

2-year public 439 12.7 12.5 12.6

Proprietarya 2,086 26.3 23.3 21.8

aThere are no HBCU proprietary schools.

HBCUs Have Larger

Dollar Amounts in

Default Per School

Than Non-HBCUs

The total number of student loan dollars in default per school averaged

nearly four times higher at HBCUs than at non-HBCUs. In fiscal year 1992, the

last year for which complete data on defaulted amounts were available,

HBCU defaults averaged $464,209 compared with $119,307 for non-HBCUs

(see table 2). This was primarily the result of default rates being about

three times as great for HBCUs as for non-HBCUs. The average borrower in

default at HBCUs or non-HBCUs had nearly the same amount in default—

$4,084 at HBCUs, $4,091 at non-HBCUs.

Table 2: Selected Characteristics for

HBCUs and Non-HBCUs, Fiscal Year

1992 Cohort Selected characteristic HBCUs

NonHBCUs

Number of schools 98 3,209

Borrower default rate 22.3% 7.4%

Avg. dollars in default per school $464,209 $119,307

Avg. dollars in default per borrower $4,084 $4,091

Avg. borrowers in default per school 114 29

Avg. borrowers repaying loans per school 510 393

Avg. 1994 fall enrollees per school 2,788 4,412

Defaulted borrowers as percentage of enrollees 4.1% 0.7%

Borrowers in repayment as percentage of enrollees 18.3% 8.9%

Note: The fiscal year 1992 cohort was the latest year for which the amount of dollars in default

was available.

Page 8 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
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For both HBCUs and non-HBCUs, the average dollars in default for 4-year

schools was higher than that for 2-year schools. For example, in the fiscal

year 1992 cohort, defaulted dollars for 4-year HBCUs was $491,083 and for

2-year HBCUs, $165,243 (see app. II).

In addition, to determine whether larger 4-year schools might have lower

default rates but higher dollar volumes in default,6

 for the 1992 cohort, we

analyzed default data by size of school enrollment. We found that at HBCUs,

larger schools had lower default rates and much higher volumes of dollars

in default than smaller schools. At non-HBCUs, larger schools had nearly the

same default rates as smaller schools, but much higher volumes of dollars

in default. However, for both the larger and smaller schools, HBCUs had

significantly higher default rates and more dollars in default than

non-HBCUs. (See app. III.)

In analyzing student loan dollars in default compared with loans in

repayment, we found that the dollar default rate for HBCUs, in fiscal year

1992, was 19.7 percent. This compares with a dollar default rate for

proprietary schools of 19.1 percent and for all other non-HBCUs of

5.6 percent. (See app. IV.)

Over 20 Percent of

HBCUs Could Lose

Student Loan

Eligibility

If the high default rates for the fiscal years 1991-93 cohorts persist, 22 of

the 98 HBCUs (over 20 percent), after their statutory exemption from

default rate requirements ends in July 1998, could become ineligible for

continued participation in federal student loan programs. The 22 schools

had cohort default rates of 25 percent or more in those 3 fiscal years.

Given fall 1994 enrollments, about 29,000 (11 percent) of HBCU students

attended these 22 HBCUs. During fiscal year 1995, students attending the 22

schools received about $80 million in federal education loans. (See table 3

for these and other possible outcomes under current law and varying

default rate thresholds.)

6

In our analysis of default rates by enrollment size, we defined smaller schools as those with

enrollments of less than 5,000 students and larger schools as those with enrollments of greater than or

equal to 5,000 students.

Page 9 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

Table 3: Varying Default Rate

Thresholds at Which HBCUs Could

Lose Eligibility for FFEL Participation

in Fiscal Year 1998

Percentage at

default rate

thresholda

HBCUs that could

lose eligibility

HBCU loan volume

in fiscal year 1995

Percentage of total

HBCU loan volume

25 22 $80,030,772 10.9

30 11 10,163,511 1.4

35 6 5,380,842 0.7

40 1 2,280,123 0.3

aDefault rates are based on fiscal years 1991-93 cohort data, which are the most recent available.

If the legislative exemption expires, cohort data from fiscal years 1994-96 are likely to be the most

recent data available for determining eligibility to participate in federal student loan programs in

fiscal year 1998.

High default rates could also have other effects on a number of HBCUs. By

regulation, the Department requires that schools with default rates

exceeding a 20 percent threshold must submit a default management plan

for reducing their default rates. HBCUs are not exempt from this

requirement. For the fiscal year 1993 cohort, 53 (54 percent) of the 98

HBCUs had default rates above 20 percent. In comparison, 221 (7 percent)

of the 3,209 non-HBCUs had default rates exceeding 20 percent.

Further, the Department may limit, suspend, or terminate school

participation in all title IV federal student aid programs if cohort default

rates exceed 40 percent for a single year. For the 1993 cohort, 7 HBCUs and

17 non-HBCUs exceeded the 40 percent threshold. According to Department

of Education officials, of the 17 non-HBCUs, 14 no longer participate in FFEL

and 3 are contesting their default rates through the Department’s appeal

process. Of the 7 HBCUs, 1 recently terminated its participation in title IV

student aid programs because it lost accreditation; the other 6 may

continue to participate because the Department has not initiated actions to

limit, suspend, or terminate these schools’ participation because of their

high default rates.

Agency Comments The Department of Education reviewed a draft of this report and had no

comments.

Copies of this letter will be provided to appropriate congressional

committees, the Secretary of Education, and other interested parties. If

you have any questions or would like to discuss this report further, please

contact me on (202) 512-7014. Major contributors include

Page 10 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
B-275208 

Joseph J. Eglin, Jr., Assistant Director; Daniel C. Jacobsen; Robert B.

Miller; and Charles M. Novak.

Sincerely yours,

Carlotta C. Joyner

Director, Education and

 Employment Issues

Page 11 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I 

Historically Black

Colleges and

Universities, by State,

Kind of School, and

Enrollment

14

Appendix II 

Comparison of

Selected

Characteristics at

4-Year and 2-Year

HBCUs and

Non-HBCUs, Fiscal

Year 1992 Cohort

18

Appendix III 

Comparison of

Selected

Characteristics at

4-Year HBCUs and

Non-HBCUs, by

School Enrollment,

Fiscal Year 1992

Cohort

19

Page 12 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Contents

Appendix IV 

Federal Family

Education Loans

(FFEL) in Repayment

and Default, by Kind

of School, Fiscal Year

1992 Cohort

20

Tables Table 1: Comparison of FFEL Default Rates by Kind of School for

HBCUs and Non-HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-93 Cohorts

8

Table 2: Selected Characteristics for HBCUs and Non-HBCUs,

Fiscal Year 1992 Cohort

8

Table 3: Varying Default Rate Thresholds at Which HBCUs Could

Lose Eligibility for FFEL Participation in Fiscal Year 1998

10

Figures Figure 1: Percentage of Total FFEL and FDL Dollar Amounts

Awarded to HBCU Students, Fiscal Years 1991-95

5

Figure 2: Dollar Amount of loans Under FFEL and FDL to

Students Attending HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-95

6

Figure 3: Aggregate FFEL Default Rates for HBCUs and

Non-HBCUs, Fiscal Years 1991-93 Cohorts

7

Abbreviations

FDL Federal Direct Loan

FFEL Federal Family Education Loan

HBCU Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Page 13 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix I 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

by State, Kind of School, and Enrollment

HBCUs included in the review State Kind of school

Fall

enrollment

1994

Alabama A&M University Ala. 4-yr. public 5,543

Alabama State University Ala. 4-yr. public 5,037

J.F. Drake State Technical College Ala. 2-yr. public 768

Miles College Ala. 4-yr. private 1,068

Oakwood College Ala. 4-yr. private 1,534

Selma University Ala. 4-yr. private 206

Stillman College Ala. 4-yr. private 913

Talladega College Ala. 4-yr. private 976

Trenholm State Technical College Ala. 2-yr. public 785

Tuskegee University Ala. 4-yr. private 3,322

Arkansas Baptist College Ark. 4-yr. private 225

Philander Smith College Ark. 4-yr. private 841

Shorter College Ark. 2-yr. private 282

Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Ark. 4-yr. public 3,823

Howard University D.C. 4-yr. private 10,115

Univ. of the District of Columbia D.C. 4-yr. public 10,599

Delaware State University Del. 4-yr. public 3,381

Bethune-Cookman College Fla. 4-yr. private 2,345

Edward Waters College Fla. 4-yr. private 782

Florida A&M University Fla. 4-yr. public 10,084

Florida Memorial College Fla. 4-yr. private 1,320

Albany State College Ga. 4-yr. public 3,062

Clark Atlanta University Ga. 4-yr. private 5,193

Fort Valley State College Ga. 4-yr. public 2,823

Interdenominational Theological Center Ga. 4-yr. private 398

Morehouse College Ga. 4-yr. private 2,992

Morehouse School of Medicine Ga. 4-yr. private 164

Morris Brown College Ga. 4-yr. private 1,894

Paine College Ga. 4-yr. private 721

Savannah State College Ga. 4-yr. public 3,253

Spelman College Ga. 4-yr. private 1,977

Kentucky State University Ky. 4-yr. public 2,563

Dillard University La. 4-yr. private 1,675

Grambling State University La. 4-yr. public 7,610

Southern University and A&M College at

Baton Rouge

La. 4-yr. public 9,904

Southern University at New Orleans La. 4-yr. public 4,302

(continued)

Page 14 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix I 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

by State, Kind of School, and Enrollment

HBCUs included in the review State Kind of school

Fall

enrollment

1994

Southern University at

Shreveport-Bossier City

La. 2-yr. public 1,267

Xavier University of Louisiana La. 4-yr. private 3,463

Bowie State University Md. 4-yr. public 4,896

Coppin State College Md. 4-yr. public 3,380

Morgan State University Md. 4-yr. public 5,766

University of Maryland Eastern Shore Md. 4-yr. public 2,925

Lewis College of Business Mich. 2-yr. private 245

Harris-Stowe State College Mo. 4-yr. public 1,757

Lincoln University Mo. 4-yr. public 3,512

Alcorn State University Mo. 4-yr. public 2,742

Coahoma Community College Miss. 2-yr. public 969

Jackson State University Miss. 4-yr. public 6,224

Mary Holmes College Miss. 2-yr. private 327

Mississippi Valley State University Miss. 4-yr. public 2,182

Rust College Miss. 4-yr. private 1,055

Tougaloo College Miss. 4-yr. private 1,105

Barber-Scotia College N.C. 4-yr. private 432

Bennett College N.C. 4-yr. private 655

Elizabeth City State University N.C. 4-yr. public 2,099

Fayetteville State University N.C. 4-yr. public 4,109

Johnson C. Smith University N.C. 4-yr. private 1,413

Livingstone College N.C. 4-yr. private 836

North Carolina A&T State University N.C. 4-yr. public 8,136

North Carolina Central University N.C. 4-yr. public 5,692

Saint Augustine’s College N.C. 4-yr. private 1,673

Shaw University N.C. 4-yr. private 2,432

Winston-Salem State University N.C. 4-yr. public 2,915

Central State University Ohio 4-yr. public 2,763

Wilberforce University Ohio 4-yr. private 976

Langston University Okla. 4-yr. public 3,408

Cheyney State University of Pennsylvania Pa. 4-yr. public 1,357

Lincoln University Pa. 4-yr. public 1,371

Allen University S.C. 4-yr. private 256

Benedict College S.C. 4-yr. private 1,501

Claflin College S.C. 4-yr. private 1,023

Denmark Technical College S.C. 2-yr. public 840

(continued)

Page 15 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix I 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

by State, Kind of School, and Enrollment

HBCUs included in the review State Kind of school

Fall

enrollment

1994

Morris College S.C. 4-yr. private 889

South Carolina State University S.C. 4-yr. public 4,693

Voorhees College S.C. 4-yr. private 716

Fisk University Tenn. 4-yr. private 872

Knoxville College Tenn. 4-yr. private 728

Lane College Tenn. 4-yr. private 667

LeMoyne-Owen College Tenn. 4-yr. private 1,436

Meharry Medical College Tenn. 4-yr. private 726

Tennessee State University Tenn. 4-yr. public 8,180

Huston-Tillotson College Tex. 4-yr. private 613

Jarvis Christian College Tex. 4-yr. private 382

Paul Quinn College Tex. 4-yr. private 667

Prairie View A&M University Tex. 4-yr. public 5,849

Saint Phillip’s College Tex. 2-yr. public 6,571

Southwestern Christian College Tex. 4-yr. private 182

Texas College Tex. 4-yr. private 262

Texas Southern University Tex. 4-yr. public 10,078

Wiley College Tex. 4-yr. private 584

Hampton University Va. 4-yr. private 5,769

Norfolk State University Va. 4-yr. public 8,667

Saint Paul’s College Va. 4-yr. private 763

Virginia State University Va. 4-yr. public 4,007

Virginia Union University Va. 4-yr. private 1,525

University of the Virgin Islands V.I. 4-yr. public 3,095

Bluefield State College W.Va. 4-yr. public 2,609

West Virginia State College W.Va. 4-yr. public 4,519

HBCUs excluded from the review

Bishop State Community Collegea Ala. 2-yr. public 4,511

Lawson State Community Collegea Ala. 2-yr. public 1,920

Fredd State Technical Collegea Ala. 2-yr. public 190

Concordia Collegea Ala. 2-yr. private 435

Hinds Community College, Utica

Campusb

Miss. 2-yr. public 964

Clinton Junior Collegea S.C. 2-yr. private 53

(Table notes on next page)

Page 16 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix I 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

by State, Kind of School, and Enrollment

Note: The number of HBCUs included in the review is 98; the number excluded is 6.

aThis HBCU has not been a participant in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program

and, therefore, the Department of Education’s default rate report for the fiscal year 1993 cohort

contained no information for it.

bThe Department’s default rate report for the fiscal year 1993 cohort contains data for Hinds

Community College, but default data for the Hinds Utica Campus are not separated out.

According to a vice-president of the college, this campus is the portion of Hinds Community

College that is recognized as an HBCU. Therefore, for review purposes, Hinds Community

College was considered a non-HBCU.

Page 17 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix II 

Comparison of Selected Characteristics at

4-Year and 2-Year HBCUs and Non-HBCUs,

Fiscal Year 1992 Cohort

4-year schools 2-year schools

Selected characteristic HBCU Non-HBCU HBCU Non-HBCU

Number of schools 89 1,828 9 1,381

Borrower default rate 22.0% 6.0% 30.8% 14.0%

Avg. borrowers in default per school 120 34 54 23

Avg. borrowers in repayment per

school 544 568 174 161

Avg. dollars in default per school $491,083 $162,715 $165,243 $61,203

Avg. dollars in default per borrower $4,101 $4,758 $3,085 $2,720

Avg. 1994 fall enrollment per school 2,935 4,667 1,339 4,046

Borrowers in default as a

percentage of all enrollees 4.1% 0.7% 4.0% 0.6%

Borrowers in repayment as a

percentage of all enrollees 18.5% 12.2% 13.0% 4.0%

Page 18 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix III 

Comparison of Selected Characteristics at

4-Year HBCUs and Non-HBCUs, by School

Enrollment, Fiscal Year 1992 Cohort

Larger enrollmenta Smaller enrollmentb

Selected characteristic HBCU Non-HBCU HBCU Non-HBCU

Number of schools 17 474 72 1,303

Borrower default rate 20.4% 6.1% 23.3% 6.0%

Avg. borrowers in default per school 259 91 87 14

Avg. borrowers in repayment per

school 1,271 1,503 372 236

Avg. dollars in default per school $1,148,151 $424,965 $335,942 $68,419

Avg. dollars in default per borrower $4,427 $4,673 $3,871 $4,875

Avg. 1994 fall enrollment per school 7,556 13,566 1,843 1,430

Borrowers in default as a

percentage of all students 3.4% 0.7% 4.7% 1.0%

Borrowers in repayment as a

percentage of all students 16.8% 11.1% 20.2% 16.5%

Percentage of total HBCU or

non-HBCU enrollment 49.2% 77.5% 50.8% 22.5%

a“Larger enrollment” includes schools with fall 1994 enrollments of greater than or equal to 5,000

students.

b“Smaller enrollment” includes schools with fall 1994 enrollments of less than 5,000 students.

Page 19 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
Appendix IV 

Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) in

Repayment and Default, by Kind of School,

Fiscal Year 1992 Cohort

Loans Percentage of total

Dollars in millions

Kind of school Repayment Default Repayment Default

Dollar

default

rate (in

percent)

HBCU $ 228 $ 45 2.8 7.0 19.7

Non-HBCU, proprietary 1,134 217 13.8 33.6 19.1

Non-HBCU, all others 6,853 383 83.4 59.4 5.6

Total $8,215 $645 100.0 100.0 7.9

Note: The Department of Education’s database provided information on fiscal year 1992 dollars in

repayment and in default for only 5,670 of the 5,855 schools in our universe of schools, as follows:

HBCU, 97 of 98; Non-HBCU, proprietary, 1,988 of 2,086; Non-HBCU, all others, 3,585 of 3,671.

(104855) Page 20 GAO/HEHS-97-33 Loan Defaults at HBCUs
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