Jarvis Christian Out of
Default Trouble
Dear Editor:
The Aug. 5th issue of Black Issues In Higher Education features a story on the Sallie Mae default management project for historically Black colleges and universities. The story includes a list of the 14 HBCUs that participated in our default prevention initiative. However, we would like to make it clear that one of these institutions, Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, is no longer required to submit a default management plan to the U.S. Department of Education.
The Sallie Mae default management team visited Jarvis on Dec. 3, 1998. At that time, Jarvis was included on the list of HBCUs with cohort default rates of 25 percent or more during the past three fiscal years. Since that time, and prior to the publication of our report, Jarvis successfully appealed to have its fiscal year 1996 cohort default rate lowered to below 25 percent and is no longer subject to the new law.
During our visit to Jarvis, we were very impressed with the substantial progress the college has made in reducing student loan defaults. Because of this hard work, Jarvis will continue to make great strides toward educating African American students in the years ahead.
Kenneth E. Redd
Senior Research Associate
Education and Student Loan Service
Service of Distinction
Dear Editor: