free
WEDNESDAY
oct. 12, 2016 high 71°, low 54°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • Float on
P • Let me upgrade you
School of Architecture faculty and students are helping to design floating concrete blocks to improve the vulnerable shorelines of Colombia. Page 3
The famous Gustav Stickley house, located at 438 Columbus Ave., is being transformed into an inn and event space with the help of grant money. Page 9
BY DEFAULT default rates by fiscal year
dailyorange.com
S • Frozen over
The ice at Tennity Ice Pavilion melted in April. About six months later, SU’s Department of Recreation Services has permanently fixed the problem. Page 16
SU loan default rates go down while increase is seen nationwide graphic illustration by jordana rubin design editor
state by state
going down Over the course of just three years, the number of SU student borrowers in default has decreased by 1 percent — a significant drop compared to other universities
15
2013
12
2012
2011
9
6
United States Technical College in Bismark, South Dakota has the highest default rate for a four-year school in the U.S. USTC is facing possible government sanctions for having default rates of at least 30 percent for three years in a row.
3 2011
2012
2013
Larry’s Baber College in Chicago is the school with the highest default rate in the U.S. at 48.3 percent
UNITED STATES NEW YORK STATE
Syracuse University is one of the few private colleges whose default rate has dropped. Here’s where SU stands compared to local and national universities.
47.3%
where we stand
48.3%
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
college ratings Here are the default rates for the fiscal year 2013 for public, private, proprietary and technical colleges.
11.3 7.0 15.0
4.2%
LARRY’S BARBER COLLEGE
By Sam Ogozalek staff writer
D
PUBLIC COLLEGES
PROPRIETARY COLLEGES
PRIVATE COLLEGES
TECHNICAL COLLEGES
The New Life Business Institute in Jamaica, New York was the college with the highest borrower default rate for fiscal year 2013 at 47.3 percent
by the numbers
THE NEW LIFE BUSINESS INSTITUTE
3.0%
2.3%
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY LE MOYNE COLLEGE ONONDAGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
1.7%
14.9%
43.5
espite the three-year national trend of federal student loan defaults decreasing in the United States, a recent report noted the loan default rate has increased for students in private nonprofit colleges. The report was released by the United States Department of Education on Sept. 28. According to the DOE’s three-year cohort default rate report — which takes into account all public, private and proprietary schools in the U.S. — the nation’s student loan default
.482% SU accounted for .482 percent of all borrowers in default for New York State in fiscal year 2013
rate has gone from 11.8 percent to 11.3 percent. In comparison, private colleges saw a rate increase of 6.8 percent to 7 percent. Syracuse University, contrary to the rate increase noted for private colleges in the report, had a decrease in the rate of borrowers defaulting on federal student loans. SU’s default rate went from 3.3 percent to 3 percent. The report, which has its share of critics claiming the cohort default rate can be manipulated by colleges, is based around the federal government’s fiscal year, opposed to a calendar year. The cohort default rate report released
101
The number of historically black colleges and universities in the U.S., all of which have fiscal year 2013 loan default rates beneath the regulatory threshold
In the 2013 fiscal year, University of Southern California had only 133 students in default, and is one of the schools with the lowest default rates in the country
was for the fiscal year of 2013. The latest report was calculated by the percentage of borrowers that fell at least nine months behind on paying a federal student loan, after entering repayment on a loan between Oct. 1, 2012 and Sept. 30, 2015. The only loans used to calculate the cohort report are subsidized and unsubsidized federal Stafford loans and federal direct subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford/Ford loans. Stafford loans are the most common federal loans to be taken out by students. According to the DOE, Federal Perkins, PLUS and insured student
loans are not used in computing the cohort default rates. Data on default rates for these loans is published less frequently by the DOE, and is not as consequential for schools — considering the cohort report ties directly into whether a given institution continues to receive federal aid assistance. Private loans are not taken into account when calculating the cohort rates. Between Oct. 1, 2012 and Sept. 20, 2015, SU had 113 borrowers enter default on a loan. In comparison, local colleges in Syracuse including Le Moyne College and Onondaga Community College had see loan
default page 7
crime
Driver killed was SU worker Deric Brown was recently hired as a temporary custodian By Sara Swann news editor
Deric Brown, the man who was shot and killed by a Syracuse police officer on Sunday, was recently hired by Syracuse University, police said. Brown, 41 of Syracuse, was hired five weeks ago as a temporary custodial employee at SU, according to a statement from Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado. “Our Department of Public Safety (DPS) continues to work closely with Syracuse Police on this investigation, which remains ongoing at the time,” Maldonado said in the statement. “Though the details of the incident are still developing, our community is saddened by this loss of life.” Brown was pulled over by a Syracuse Police Department officer during a traffic stop on Sunday at about 10:50 p.m. for not having his car’s taillights on. When the police officer approached Brown’s car, the officer noticed a firearm in Brown’s possession. The officer then began retreating to his car, at which point Brown left his car and fired an undisclosed number of shots at the officer. The officer returned fire, striking Brown with at least one round of gunshots. Brown was taken to Upstate Medical Hospital where he later died from his injuries. The officer involved in the shooting is currently on administrative leave, per SPD protocol. The name of the officer will be released within 72 hours of the shooting. This investigation is ongoing and Syracuse police said they will release additional information as it is acquired. smswann@syr.edu @saramswann