Student loan default rate increases for first time in 4 years

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. student loan default rate increased for the first time in four years, the Department of Education announced Wednesday.

The department said 11.5 percent of borrowers defaulted within the first three years of repaying their student loans starting in 2014. For those entering repayment starting the year before, the default rate was 11.3 percent.

The rate is still 3.2 percentage points less than it was five years ago.

Data reveal a record 8.5 million people are in default on their student loans.

The department said 10 new schools are now at risk of losing access to federal student aid due to higher cohort default rates. The federal government cuts off aid if a school exceeds a 30 percent default rate for three consecutive years or 40 percent in one year.

Those schools include: Larry's Barber College in Chicago; Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Cumberland, Ky.; United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, N.D.; Headquarters Academy of Hair Design in Minot, N.D.; Long Island Barber Institute in Hempstead, N.Y.; Daymar College in Columbus; Cosmetics Arts Institute in Walterboro, S.C.; Nashville Barber and Style Academy in Madison, Tenn.; Jay's Technical Institute in Houston; and Culpepper Cosmetology Training Center in Culpepper, Va.