One lesson that students attending college in Utah are apparently learning is how to pay their bills.
At least a new study by the U.S. General Accounting Office shows that Utah colleges - for the most part - far surpass national averages for the number of their graduates who pay off their government-guaranteed student loans after graduation.Of the 35 post-high school educational institutions in the state that had students apply for guaranteed loans in 1983, 31 had default rates of less than 6 percent.
Fifteen had absolutely no defaults at all.
The federal government hasn't had such good luck elsewhere. The study showed more than 1,200 of the 7,800 schools with students receiving loans nationally had default rates of more than 40 percent.
Only one small beauty college had a rate that high in Utah, because one of two students receiving loans had defaulted.
The GAO broke down its figures and averages into five categories. Following is how Utah schools compared to national averages in each of those categories on loans made in 1983.
FOUR-YEAR PUBLIC SCHOOLS - An average of 10 percent of student borrowers defaulted nationwide. But all Utah schools were far below that average.
The champion was the University of Utah, where only 1.05 percent of borrowers defaulted. Those 21 defaulters, however, owe the federal government $87,358. The U.'s averages might have even been better if loans to medical students had not been counted separately. None of the future doctors defaulted.
The figures for the other schools are: Southern Utah State College in Cedar City, 5.88 percent default rate with 15 students owing $41,945; Weber State College in Ogden, 3.42 percent with 23 students owing $81,761; and Utah State University in Logan, 2.25 percent with 25 students owing $96,638.
FOUR-YEAR PRIVATE SCHOOLS - The national average default rate was 10 percent, but the two Utah schools in this category had default rates one-fifth that much or lower.
Brigham Young University in Provo had a default rate of 2.26 percent, with 62 defaulters owing $229,830. Westminster College of Salt Lake City had a default rate of 1.3 percent with two defaulters owing $9,360.
TWO-YEAR PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Nationally, 25 percent of the students in this category defaulted on loans. But at Utah schools, the averages were at least two-thirds lower.
The College of Eastern Utah in Price was the highest with 8.33 percent, with three defaulters owing $10,902.
Others include Dixie College in St. George, 5.63 percent with four students owing $9,850; Snow College in Ephraim, 4.26 percent with two students owing $4,500; Salt Lake Community College, 2.52 percent with 10 students owing $36,510; Utah Valley Community College, 1.13 percent with four students owing $9,016; and the Sevier Valley Area Vocational Center in Richfield and the Davis Area Vocational Center in Kaysville, both with no defaults.
TWO-YEAR PRIVATE SCHOOLS - An average of 20 percent of students default nationally. In comparison, the averages at such schools in Utah were miniscule.
LDS Business College in Salt Lake City had the highest default rate in the category in Utah with 3.7 percent, with two students owing $5,000.
Stevens-Henager College of Business in Ogden had a 1.16 percent rate and four students owing $11,267. Mountainwest College of Business and Technology in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake City College had no defaults.
PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS: These schools ranging from beauty colleges to medical assistants' training had the highest rate of defaults nationally, 39 percent. But averages in Utah were generally very low, with 10 schools having no defaults.
Those without defaults included the American Institute of Medical and Dental Technology in Provo; Hollywood Beauty Colleges in Provo, Holladay and Salt Lake City; the Intermountain College of Court Reporting in Murray; the International Institute of Hair Design in Midvale; ITT Technical Institute in Salt Lake City; Painter's College of Beauty in Roy; the Ron Bailie School of Broadcast in Salt Lake City; and the Utah Valley LDS Hospital School of Medical Technology.
But three schools had high default rates. Beau La Reine College of Beauty Culture in Logan had a 50 percent rate - which may be deceptive, because one of its two student borrowers defaulted, owing $2,500. Hollywood Beauty College-Ogden had a 33.33 rate, with one student owing $2,500. And the Mary Kawakomi College of Beauty in Provo had a 20 percent rate with two students owing $4,500.
Averages for others include: American Technical Center, Salt Lake City, 4.35 percent with two students owing $2,500; Bryman School in Salt Lake City, 3.97 percent with six students owing $13,950; and the Continental College of Beauty in Salt Lake City, 1.69 percent rate with one student owing $2,500.
In short, despite stories about serious problems with students defaulting on government-backed loans nationally, students in Utah are generally still a good credit risk.