The 2011 tightening of Parent PLUS credit standards sharply reduced PLUS access at HBCUs and cost them about $168 million¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? After the Department of Education tightened Parent PLUS credit standards in October 2011, the share of PLUS recipients at HBCUs fell 45.7% in 2012-13 versus 28.7% at non-HBCUs serving low-income students, and HBCUs lost about $168 million in PLUS revenue. → Victoria Jackson 2023

Evidence¶

Victoria Jackson 2023¶

Victoria Jackson, Brittani Williams, and Jalil B. Mustaffa. (2023). Parent PLUS Loans Are a Double-Edged Sword for Black Borrowers. The Education Trust. https://edtrust.org/resource/parent-plus-loans-are-a-double-edged-sword-for-black-borrowers

q2 · i? · qualitative · r1

The brief reports figures from a Mathematica study on changes in financial aid and enrollment after the tightening of PLUS credit standards, stating the "share of PLUS loan recipients at HBCUs fell by 45.7%" versus "only 28.7%" at comparable non-HBCUs, and that HBCUs lost about $168 million in PLUS loan revenue.

"During the 2012-13 academic year, the share of PLUS loan recipients at HBCUs fell by 45.7% from the previous academic year. At non-HBCUs that serve students from low-income families, the decline was only 28.7%."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Black Parent PLUS borrowers default at disproportionately high rates compared with White parent borrowers — related
• Black parents take out Parent PLUS loans at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, and low-income Black PLUS borrowing is growing — related
• Institutions serving the most students of color have been underfunded, and flexible, long-term funding is needed, as illustrated by Maryland's $577 million for HBCUs and $150–544 million owed to Tennessee State University — a broader claim this one bears on
• After the tightening of PLUS credit standards, both the share of PLUS participants and PLUS loan dollar amounts declined substantially at HBCUs — related
• The larger enrollment decline at HBCUs corresponded to the larger decline in PLUS recipients at those institutions — related
• Enrollment at HBCUs decreased more than enrollment at other institutions after the PLUS credit-standard tightening — related
• Tightened PLUS credit standards changed both financial aid and enrollment at HBCUs across the first two affected academic years — related
• Other types of federal financial aid did not fully make up for the decline in PLUS borrowing at HBCUs — related
• PLUS loan volume at HBCUs declined substantially in 2012-13 after credit standards were tightened — related
• HBCUs experienced larger enrollment declines than other institutions after the PLUS tightening, particularly for first-year students — related
• HBCU enrollment continued to decline in 2013-14 despite the partial rebound in PLUS loans — related
• PLUS loans at HBCUs increased somewhat in 2013-14 after the Department of Education streamlined the PLUS appeals process — related