Adrian Mora, who graduated from the University of Guam in 2014, has taken out loans in Spring of 2013 and in Fall of 2014. In that time, he had accumulated about $30,000 in student loan debt but remains unhindered by the amount.

“I’ve had no difficulty paying my student loan back,” Mora said. “My loan provider offers different payment options to choose from, allowing me to pay what I can afford.”
Mora encourages students to apply for student loans and not to be afraid to take out one.

“Working two or more jobs and going to school at the same time isn’t worth the stress,” Mora said. “I’ve seen many of my peers drop out of college because they wanted to work more to save money for school, but never seemed to go back when they had enough.”

Jeff Bautista, a senior at UOG majoring in communication, is spending his student loan wisely and only borrows enough to get through the semester.
“Right now I’m paying school out of my pocket,” Bautista said.

Bautista says that he uses the money left over from his student loan after paying his tuition, for books, food, and other necessities.

“Maybe $800 to $1,200, they give a check back to me and I would just live off that for awhile each semester,” Bautista said.
Bautista encourages students to apply for FASFA whenever they can and to take out a student loan whenever you do need it.

Bautista says that he has accumulated about $30,000 in student loan debt and is expected to pay about $250 a month, but remains hopeful and is looking forward in getting his degree. He is expecting to graduate Fall of 2016.

According to UOG’s Fact Book, an alumni survey was done in Spring 2014 on the employment statuses of graduates, which could be a factor in the rising student loan debt.
In 2012, about 19% were currently employed and about 15% were related to their major studies. In addition, in 2013, about 13% were currently employed and about 9% were related to their field of study.
Furthermore, according to statistics from the UOG Financial Aid Office, between the years 2010-2012, of the roughly 4,300 students enrolled in UOG, and about 400 students took out a student loan. Within those three years, about an average of 6.5% of students defaulted on their student loans.

In addition, about an average of 380 students within those three years are currently paying off their student loans.

“The main reasons for defaulting, is failure by the student to communicate to their lender,” said Mark Duarte, Director at the Financial Aid Office.

According to Duarte, the lender is willing to work with students if they are unable to make payments. In addition, they can give them options to prevent them from defaulting.

“I always advise students to talk to their lender whenever they have any issues concerning payment of the loan,” said Duarte. “Most of the time, they will be able to help.”

Duarte said the worst thing a student can do is to not communicate with their lender.

According to Duarte, UOG’s default rate in 2012 is actually one of the nation’s lowest, which is at 4.5%, compared to the national average default rate for students, which is around 11.8%.
In addition, about an average of 380 students within those three years are currently paying off their student loans.

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“I have seen [students] graduate from the university with upwards of $25,000 to $26,000 in debt,” Duarte said.
Part of the problem is that students are advised to borrow what they need, but usually ask for the maximum amount that they could borrow even though a lower amount would suffice, says Duarte. In addition, Financial Aid cannot deny a student of borrowing the maximum amount that they are offered.

“We encourage students to take all the loans that they need to get through their education,” said Michael Gunn, Ph.D., dean of UOG Enrollment Management and Student Services. “But we certainly don’t encourage them to borrow enough money to go buy a car.”
Gunn added that the less money students borrow from loans, the easier it is for them to pay it back. Nationally, however, the government is drowning in student debt, and more students are defaulting on their loans every year.
In addition to student loan debt, tuition cost will be increasing in the following years.
According to Gunn, the increase in tuition should not be a cause for concern.

“It could cause the student debt to go up just a little bit over time,” Gunn explained.
Gunn added that generally, UOG’s tuition is modest that even just a slight increase in tuition is not going to put a huge strain on students and cause them to take out that more loans,.

Similarly, Duarte explained that UOG tuition has only increased about $10 more than last year and that another possible cause of student loan debt is that students are taking longer in getting their four-year degree.
“It’s a four-year degree, but the average is now approaching five and half, even six years,” says Duarte. “That’s not only UOG, that’s a national issue.”
According to Gunn, UOG does not have that great of a graduation rate and that almost a third of the students that are going to graduate will graduate after the six year.

“The longer it takes to get your degrees, the more student debts you incur and the harder it is to pay that back over the long term,” Gunn said.
Gunn adds that they are looking into the reasons why it does take UOG students longer to graduate and are there ways to assisting students in getting their degree sooner.
Part of the reason why student debt may be a growing problem is because applying for a student loan at UOG is a simple process.
First a student has to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be to be eligible for a loan. Independent students would use their own tax information to fill out the FAFSA but if they are still associated with their parents, then they would be using their parents information.

The process is changing a little bit, in that it used to be after the first of the year for the previous tax year and now it’s going to be in the first of October for the current tax year,. Michael Gunn, Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success.
Once the FAFSA is filed, it is then evaluated by Financial Aid in accordance to Federal Rules. Student will then be notified as to which type of loan they are qualified for.

There a number a ways a student can get assistance through the federal program, such as Pell Grants, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Work Study, and the three types of loans: Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal direct Unsubsidized loan, and the Federal Direct Parent Loan.
According to Gunn, it’s possible for a student to could get enough support from Pell Grants and Scholarships that they don’t have to take out any student loans.

“Loans are the last step in the process,” says Gunn. “Generally a student who doesn’t have some kind of money set aside to pay for college will end up taking student loans, and it just depends on how much the student needs and what their qualified for.”
Gunn mentioned that there are two ways a student can prepare to pay off their student loans once they graduate.

The first is that students who are approaching their graduation should be working with UOG’s Career Development Office, which helps prepare them for internships, practicing interviews, or writing job resumes.

The second is the UOG Alumni Association, which has a strong network of graduates and business that they partner with that could assist a student get matched up with an employer in the area that fits their degree.

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According to Anita Borja Enriquez, Ph.D., UOG senior vice president for academic and student affairs, after the previous accreditation that occurred in 2008-2009, the WASC team made recommendations regarding areas that the university should improve.  These included its financial sustainability, enrollment growth and recruitment, student assessment and retention.  .

“Since then, the university has had to provide interim progress reports on what progress we were making across those four different areas,” Enriquez said.

According to Enriquez, UOG submitted its last progress report to WASC in Fall 2013. In January 2014, WASC praised the university for making marked progress across those areas.

Aside from UOG’s interim progress reports, institutional reports were submitted, which outlined the university’s self-reflection on how it is complying with the WASC standards of accreditation.

In Nov. 13, 2015, WASC’s evaluation team conducted an off-site review of UOG via conference call.

The WASC evaluation team gave their feedback regarding UOG’s institutional report, which was uploaded late August 2015, as to where UOG stands in regards to accreditation.

As a result, WASC has given several commendations. These commendations included the university’s fiscal stewardship, ongoing enrollment growth, and it’s efforts in first year retention.

Enriquez added that the WASC team also praised the university’s focus and commitment to its regional needs, demonstrating its value in doing public good across the areas of education, research, extension efforts, as well as the different service initiatives out in the community.

Enriquez also said the WASC team was very impressed by UOG’s “Good to Great” initiative, calling it a comprehensive and ambitious plan.
The WASC team detailed five lines of inquiry, or areas that UOG needs to provide further information on in order to move forward with accreditation.

Enriquez said the five lines of inquiry deal with the university’s progress on “Good to Great,” its plans to increase capacity of its institutional research, its annual program assessment, graduate education, and undergraduate student success.

Enriquez said undergraduate students’ success could be the most critical. Student success covers retention, high student achievement, and degree completion.

As a result, a student success innovation team has been established, said Enriquez. It is a sixteen member team that includes a representative from the Student Government Association, that helps students progress through developmental education.

“We’re looking at other ways in which we improve upon the student experience and assure their success throughout their respective degree pathway,” said Enriquez.

“Retention and graduation rates show the academic health of the unversity as it were,” said James Sellmann, Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Sellmann explained the four-year degree plan has changed nationwide. Part of it maybe because students are occupied with their jobs and families, as a result, this could interfere with graduating on a timely manner, said Sellmann.

The assessment of student learning plays a major role in accreditation. This coming review, they will be assessing students critical thinking skills and written communication, said Sellman.

“The real challenge for us will be the next accreditation cycle, where we have to also assess oral communication, information literacy, and quantitative reasoning,” said Sellman.

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