New statistics reflect a nearly 20-year high in the percentage of borrowers who defaulted on federal student loans within a two-year period, a report released Monday by the Education Department stated. The data shows that borrowers who began repayment between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011 defaulted on 10 percent of loans, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. This figure has increased each of the last six years, with a 9.1 percent two-year default rate last year. These statistics are used to determine schools' eligibility to receive federal financial aid, and institutions with more than a 25 percent two-year default rate for three consecutive years or a 40 percent rate for a single year are cut off from funding. Two hundred and twenty-one institutions did not make the benchmark this year, compared to 218 the previous year.
Despite advance preparation for a government shutdown, classes were canceled at several of the five U.S. service academies, BuzzFeed reported. While the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point did not anticipate having to cancel classes, the Merchant Marine Academy halted all classes with plans to send midshipmen home if the shutdown exceeds one week. Some Naval Academy instructors prepared lesson plans for military instructors, who may classes during the shutdown, but the school had to cancel foreign language classes and laboratories. The Coast Guard Academy was the least affected of the schools, with civilian instructors exempt from furloughs due to the Department of Homeland Security Federal Funding Hiatus Contingency Plan. The other four schools are funded by the Defense Department.
A conference at the University of Maryland highlighted the growing problem of Americans' monolingualism, Inside Higher Ed reported. At the "Languages for All?" conference on Monday, Maryland's Center for Advanced Study of Language argued that American schools are not ensuring that more students graduate with proficiency in a second language. The conference pointed out positive effects of multilingualism, including fewer cultural barriers, economic boosts and decreased job outsourcing, as many companies including Microsoft expand by offering support in more languages.
