The DA 10-18-18

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INDEX 1. News 2. WV History/Crime 3. News 4. Ads 5. Culture 6. Chill

WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper

THURSDAY OCTOBER 18, 2018

WVU loan default rate the highest in Big 12 BY ALAYNA FULLER STAFF WRITER

Rate of loan defaults per year for 2012 WVU graduates

7. Opinion 8. Sports 9. Sports 10. Sports/Ad 11. Classifieds 12. Ad

danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu

A LOOK INSIDE

Students on loans and tuition:

9.72% 8.49% 7.47% 7.12%

Default rate percentage

WVU has the highest rates of student loan default in the Big 12, and 725 graduates from the 2012 class have defaulted on their loans over the last four years. By 2016, almost 10 percent of WVU graduates who started repaying their federal student loans in 2012 defaulted, or were unable to pay off their loans, according to data from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by the Center for American Progress. Oklahoma State University has the second highest default rate in the Big 12 behind WVU at 7.51 percent. The University of Texas, at 2.54 percent, has the lowest rate. This FOIA data reveals loan default rates up to five years after graduation. The U.S. Department of Education only requires schools to track students’ default rates for three years post-graduation. Since the federal government requires colleges to track just three years, WVU registers the 2014 default rate of 7.47 percent. But in the FOIA, it showed WVU’s default rate in 2015 rose to 8.49 percent and eventually 9.72 percent in 2016. In 2012, when the loan default numbers first started being tracked, zero students defaulted, partially because of the six-month grace period of paying back federal loans. But in 2013, the default rate rose to 7.12 percent. So, this data set shows in 2015 and 2016, the years WVU isn’t required to track loan defaults, the overall default rate jumped a combined 2.25 percent, or 194 students. WVU graduates who began repaying loans in 2012 borrowed a total of $147,496,688, according to the FOIA. One reason for the high default

“We get a lot of stuff for our tuition so I don’t think it’s too high. Like through WVU there are so many opportunities,” she said. “I have a full-ride in scholarships. My parents told me they were not helping me pay so I had to get scholarships.” -Kelsey Rhodes, finance/accounting student from Buckhannon, West Virginia

Supply chain students recieve recognition in two competitions WVU won an event in Pittsburgh and became the first Mountaineer team to place as finalists in Detroit.

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0% 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Year rates is because West Virginia is a low-income state, and more families are requiring assistance to be able to afford college in the first place, said Sean O’Leary, a senior analyst for the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “About a decade ago, West Virginia enacted a series of large tax cuts. While they were phased in over time, once fully enacted they cost the state about $425 million per year,” O’Leary said. “This led to budget problems and cuts to higher education funding.” “The cuts to higher education funding were made up with tuition increases,” he added. In West Virginia, state spending on higher education per student fell by $2,370, or 26 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy statistics. Tuition in West Virginia also increased by $2,677 for four-year public colleges and universities, or 51.4 percent, from 2008 to 2018.

Default rate of Big 12 schools WVU: 9.72% Oklahoma State: 7.51% Texas Tech: 7.02% Kansas State: 6.34%

“Since I’m in-state and have the Promise and then another scholarship, I don’t think it’s that bad for me personally, but I can understand why some people think it’s high, out-of-staters especially,” he said. -Nick Muto, marketing student from Hurricane, West Virginia

WVU works to eradicate hazing as concerns hang over Greek life Disassociated fraternities could add complications to WVU’s hazing prevention measures. page 5

Kansas: 5.35% Iowa State: 4.71% Baylor: 4.29% Oklahoma: 4.29% TCU: 3.6% Texas: 2.54%

“I’m so pissed about everything. I pay so much to go here, but it feels like nothing is done. We have shitty professors—ones that’ll just sit there and preach their political ideology to you—and then others who really don’t care,” he said. “My first year, my dad helped me out, and I had scholarships. My second year, I got student loans and scholarships. I’m shipping out for boot camp next semester, so I’ll have the GI Bill.” -Cole Aston, Political Science student from Cameron, West Virginia

Should WVU schedule a 12th game? Now that the Mountaineers have lost, the road to the Big 12 title is a little steeper. page 10

SEE DEFAULT P. 3

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