STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT TROUBLE?

Student loan delinquency and default are serious consequences for not making scheduled student loan payments.

IonTuitionTM

For assistance with your student loans, contact IonTuitionTM by logging into the IonTuitionTM portal or calling 855-693-4932. SPC partners with IonTuitionTM to assist our student loan borrowers with successful repayment, even if they are already in default. This is a free service to SPC students.

Delinquency

Student loan delinquency occurs the first day after you miss a payment. After 90 days, your student loan servicer will report your delinquency status to the three major credit bureaus. This could affect your ability to obtain a credit card or purchase a car or home.

Default

Loan default is a serious consequence for not repaying your loans. It will occur if you fail to make a payment for 270 days. The school, lender, or agency that holds your loan may all take action to recover the money.

Not paying back your student loans can have serious consequences including:

  • The lender can require that you repay the entire amount immediately, including all interest, collections, and late payment charges.
  • The lender can sue you and can ask the federal government for help in collecting from you.
  • The lender can garnish your wages.
  • The Internal Revenue Service may withhold your income tax refund and apply it toward your loan repayment.
  • You cannot get any additional federal student aid until you make satisfactory arrangements to repay your loan.
  • The lender may notify credit bureaus of your default. This may affect your credit rating, which will make it difficult to obtain credit cards, car and/or home loans in the future.

Avoiding Delinquency and Default

For assistance with your student loans, contact IonTuitionTM by logging into the IonTuitionTM portal or calling 855-693-4932. This is a free service to SPC students.

If you are experiencing a financial hardship or other circumstances, there are several options for repaying your loans.

In many cases, default can be avoided by submitting a request for a deferment and forbearance or forgiveness, cancellation and discharge. and by providing the required documentation.

What if I'm already in default?

If you are already in default, contact IonTuitionTM for assistance.

What is the Fresh Start Initiative?

Under the Fresh Start initiative, borrowers will temporarily regain several student aid and credit reporting benefits, including stopping of wage garnishment and withholding tax refunds. You’ll also get the opportunity to get out of default and keep those benefits for the long term. Loans in a Title IV loan or grant overpayment status are not eligible.

You may:  attend school, apply for and receive federal student aid and sign a statement acknowledging that the loan(s) will be transferred to a non-default servicer   OR   if you are not ready to attend school, you may contact the Department of Education to make payment arrangements.

Fresh Start will continue through one year after the COVID-19 payment pause ends.

You must contact your loan holder to use Fresh Start to get out of default. Go to myeddebt.ed.gov or call 800-621-3115. For additional contact information and more details, go to Fresh Start Announcement.

For any loan that becomes delinquent after Fresh Start is implemented, the 240 day clock begins again for that loan before the loan goes into default again.

The following loans are eligible for Fresh Start:

  • Defaulted William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans
  • Defaulted Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans (both ED-held and commercial-held)
  • Defaulted ED-held Perkins Loans that are serviced by the Department's Debt Management and Collections System (DMCS)

The following loans are not eligible for Fresh Start:

  • Defaulted Perkins Loans held by schools
  • Defaulted Health Education Assistance Loan Program loans
  • Student loans remaining with the U.S. Department of Justice for ongoing litigation
  • Direct Loans that default after the end of the COVID-19 student loan payment pause
  • FFEL Program loans that default after the end of the COVID-19 student loan payment pause

Cohort Default Rate

The Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is a calculation of the number of student loan borrowers that borrowed within one fiscal year (FY)(Oct. 1 - Sept. 30) and defaulted within that year or the next two years.

FY 2020

Calculation:  the number of student loan borrowers who defaulted from 10/1/2018-9/30/2021 divided by the number of students who borrowed from 10/1/2018-9/30/2019.

All schools had a 0.0% CDR for FY 2020 due to the COVID student loan repayment pause.

FY 2019

Calculation:  the number of student loan borrowers who defaulted from 10/1/2019-9/30/2022 divided by the number of students who borrowed from 10/1/2019-9/30/2020.

National average for all public and private two-year & four-year schools - 2.3%
National average for community colleges - 3.7%
Florida State College average - 3.6%
St. Petersburg College - 3.4% (176 defaulted / 5,163 in repayment)
SPC % of enrolled in repayment - 13.4% (5,163 in repayment / 38,528 enrolled)

See more information on the Cohort Default Rate, SPC's comparison to other schools and our efforts to reduce the rate.

What happens if I default on a loan?

If I default on a student loan, how can I fix it?

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