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MELBOURNE — Ozarka College’s financial aid department has received the Student Loan Default Prevention Excellence Award from Student Connections, the national affiliate of USA Funds that specializes in helping colleges and universities support viable loan repayment and other outcomes that drive student success.
Each year, Student Connections releases data in reporting periods based on the past three years. Ozarka has seen a continuous downward trend in cohort default rates for the past four reporting periods. For the 2010 reporting period, the college saw an all-time high of 41.8 percent.
With focused effort, the following year dropped to 23.1 percent. For the current reporting period, which includes borrowers from the three-year reporting period that began in 2013, the cohort default rates have decreased to 16.6 percent and are projected to hit a very low 13 percent in the 2014 reporting period.
Ozarka College is committed to the success of students and provides them with information on scholarships, payment plans, Pell Grants and work-study opportunities. All of these options help students obtain their educational goals with fewer loans.
“This dramatic sustained decrease was an all-hands effort, but great credit surely goes to Laura Lawrence and her committed team of professionals,” said Richard Dawe, Ozarka College president.
The total amount of loans obtained from 2014-2015 to the 2015-2016 academic term decreased by more than $874,000. Helping students earn degrees with less debt affords them greater opportunities for a brighter, more successful future.
Registration for spring and summer courses is now open, and classes will begin Monday. For more information about financial-aid opportunities, contact Laura Lawrence, Ozarka College director of financial aid, at (870) 368-2009 or finaid@ozarka.edu.