Student loans have grown in popularity over the years to help students pay for college.
However, ACC trustees learned Tuesday night many of their students are defaulting on their loans and the college is suffering the consequences.
ACC has the second-highest default rate for community colleges in Kansas. In three years the rate jumped from 16.8 percent to 23.4. There are 19 community colleges in the state. Colby Community College has the lowest rate at 5.6 percent.
“We’re not in crisis yet but we need to do something about this,” vice president of student affairs Cynthia Jacobson said.
When students default on their loans, even if they move to a university, it penalizes the college. After a student leaves a school they have six months to start paying the loan back to the lender.
Jacobson proposed hiring an outside company who handles loans and default prevention solutions.
“We could hire a part-time person but they wouldn’t have all the resources,” Jacobson said.
The two companies she presented were TG and Inceptia. They work with students to pay back their loans.
The board agreed to work with Inceptia for $16,254.
ACC president John Masterson told the trustees about an online athletic fundraising program. ETeam Fundraising notifies people via email and social media about a fundraiser a student athlete is doing. Students enter names of who they want to make aware of the fundraising. The money would help fund out-of-state scholarships.
The board approved to replace furniture in the dorms. The bid from Contract Supply, Prairie Village, was approved for $14,477.35. The school has used their products in the past.
Allen plagued by loan defaults
