Loan Policy Forcing Students Off Historically Black Colleges and Universities
May 09, 2013
Hundreds of students at historically black colleges and universities are being forced to leave school due to a change in federal loan policies that has left them struggling to fill a gap in their financial aid, reports The Washington Post.
A change in 2011 disqualified PLUS loan borrowers with unpaid debts over the past five years that had been referred to collection agencies or ruled as uncollectable. Parents of nearly 15,000 students were denied PLUS loans as of last fall, with only 1,900 cases reversed on appeal.
As of February, parents of about 28,000 students at historically black colleges and universities had been denied PLUS loans. Among all schools and students, 400,000 PLUS loan applications were denied as result of the policy change.
U.S. Education Department Spokesman Daren Briscoe said that about 80 percent of the students who were denied the PLUS loans ended up enrolling in school anyway.
Among the historically black colleges, North Carolina Central University had the largest amount of PLUS loan denials, with 609. There were 607 denials at Howard University; 569 at Florida A&M University; 528 at Prairie View A&M University; 448 in South Carolina State University; 407 at North Carolina A&T University; 260 at Shaw University; 130 at Kentucky State University; and 66 at Fayetteville State University. At South Carolina State, enrollment dropped about 700 students since last year, largely due to the stricter requirements.
Experts told the Post that students at historically black colleges and universities are much more likely to have received PLUS loans, and so the policy change was felt disproportionately there.
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The Washington Post
Heather Zimar
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