Black Colleges Seek Relief From Loan-Default Regulations

By Meg Sommerfeld

Washington

In order to avoid throwing dozens of tribal colleges and historically black colleges and universities out of federal student-loan programs, which could cause some schools to shut down, Congress is poised to pass legislation that would allow them to remain exempt from rules barring institutions with high default rates from the programs.

Under federal law, schools that have posted student-loan default rates of 25 percent or more for three years in a row lose eligibility for the Federal Family Education Loan programs. Congress passed the law in 1990, but exempted tribal colleges and...