Over the next three weeks, I would like to introduce you to three student loan borrowers whom I have met many times while pursuing my own education. While the academic programs and enrollment practices at our institutions may differ greatly, chances are that at least one of these problem students poses a threat to your cohort default rate.

First, there is the enthusiastically lost student.

This person is well-intentioned, and excited about being in school. She has no clear career goals, but she knows from watching the news that a degree, diploma or certificate is important for securing a good job and a successful future. She throws herself into a program but discovers that the field does not interest her, so she transfers or changes her major and takes on a new set of courses. The pattern repeats a few times and as the length of her education increases, so does her loan balance. By the time she finally completes a program of study, she owes enough for an advanced degree but the income from her entry-level job is not commensurate with her obligations.

How can we help students like this? 

First, we talk to them during the enrollment process.

The Admissions rep describes the time commitment necessary to complete the program, and gives students a thorough understanding of the industry.

• What salaries are common for people in this field and how long does it take to advance?
• What skills or character traits will they need to be successful? Is it necessary to be an extraverted ‘people-person’ who will be good at building his or her own clientele?
• Will jobs in this industry require schedule flexibility and do the student's family commitments allow him to work nights and weekends?

Help students make the right career choices because rushed recruitment leads to defaulted borrowers.

Second, we talk to them throughout enrollment- this requires participation from all departments.

• Do the professors notice a waning interest in course content? Are grades and attendance slipping? Sometimes students need encouragement, academic tutoring, or just a friendly reminder not to give up.
• Career Services can facilitate interaction with successful alumni or potential employers to reinvigorate the enthusiasm students felt when they first signed up for your school. 
• FA never relies on entrance interviews, but uses each new enrollment period, semester, or other touch point as an opportunity to remind students of their loan balances and projected monthly payments. We provide concrete examples of how much payments will increase if students transfer to a new program, and remind them that repayment will begin even if they do not complete the chosen course of study.

We talk to students and try to understand the challenges they are facing, and remind them of the benefits of sticking it out.

Next week, the pretend student…