Missouri college no longer accepting students who take out loans

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/us-usa-education-loans-
idUSBRE92I12120130319?feedName=OutloudFeed&feedType=RSS

(Reuters) - A private, four-year Missouri college is so concerned about
mounting debt of college graduates in the United States that it no longer
will take students who insist on taking out loans.

The policy on loans set by College of the Ozarks, an evangelical Christian
school of 1,400 students located in a rural area near Branson, Missouri,
may be a national first, according to Roland King, vice president for
public affairs at the National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities.

College of the Ozarks is unusual, however.

All students work on campus, and they do not pay tuition, said Jerry
Davis, president of the southwest Missouri four-year school.

Ninety percent of each entering class at the college must demonstrate
financial need, according to the school's website, which says that tuition
is covered by credits for campus work, along with any federal and state
aid and a college scholarship, if necessary.

"We are basically just trying to look out for the students' interests,"
Davis said. "Kids nowadays are not very sophisticated with money. Debt is
a big problem all over the country."

About two-thirds of all undergraduates at four-year colleges in the United
States take out loans, finishing with an average debt of $22,656,
according to FinAid.org, a widely- cited resource on school financial aid.

Americans now owe more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, and the
level of delinquency on the debt is rising.

The rate of defaults on student loans was 4.5 percent in the fourth
quarter of 2012, down from 5.2 percent in the year-ago quarter but still
nearly twice the level before the 2008-09 Great Recession, according to a
report released on Tuesday by credit rating agency Moody's Investor
Service.

Some lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are starting to compare the situation
with the early days of the housing crisis and are calling for government
action.

College of the Ozarks, which was rated the best education value among
Midwestern regional colleges by U.S. News and World Report, no longer
cooperates with students or banks in covering costs of attending college
with a loan, Davis said.

For instance, a bank may contact the school to certify that a student is
enrolled there, he said.

School officials said 99 current students would be affected by the change
because they received private loans to help offset boarding or other
costs.

"This college has a very low percentage of students graduating with debt,
but it has come up a little and we just don't think that is a good idea,"
Davis said. "This a work college, not a debt college." The school years
ago stopped taking students who wanted to get public loans.

At College of the Ozarks, nicknamed Hard Work U, students work across
campus in cafeteria, housing, maintenance, landscaping, agricultural and
other jobs. The school has working hog and cattle farms, gardens, lodging
and a restaurant.

Students work part-time during the school year and most hold 40-hour per
week jobs during summers to cover the cost of room and board. Some also
work in nearby Branson, a major tourism draw that specializes in music and
theatrical shows.

Davis said the school will create more work opportunities for students who
have depended on loans. They can also get jobs off-campus in summer to
save up money, he said. The school will waive its $25 weekly summer dorm
fee for students who work in Branson, he said.

Davis said he is confident the college can accommodate all students, but
that those who insist on taking out loans will have to find another
school. The college has a $355 million endowment and has helped some
students with medical, dental and other essential expenses when necessary,
he said.

"There isn't anything that really parallels what they are doing," said
King of the national college association. "Student debt is such a hot
issue and they are looking at any way they can to ease the load."

Krystal Ericson, a junior at College of the Ozarks who works as a server
at a campus restaurant, said she has never needed a loan. She said the
school's decision on loans will require every student to work and save
more.

"I can see it being a problem for some students," Ericson said. "Taking
away the student loan may cause them to think more carefully about their
options. They will have some choices to make."


--
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States of America.

Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.

Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
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Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
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in order to cover up his own ineptness.

Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
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Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.

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