New Mexico has the highest student loan in the nation and a lack of local loan servicing providers may be to blame. We went from a 12.8 percent student loan default rate to a 20.8 percent rate.
Michael Nemelka of the said it鈥檚 not just the economy, it鈥檚 because students who are the most at risk are also the most in need of information on .
鈥淭here needs to be these resources so that these people can be informed,鈥� Nemelka said, 鈥渁nd the only way to deliver that sort of service is to deliver it locally.鈥�
But the of the federal student loan system in 2010 shifted from local providers like Nemelka鈥檚 to the feds, and Nemelka said New Mexico students, especially those that drop out before earning their degrees, may not be getting the support they need.
Nemelka鈥檚 organization is working to fill that gap, but he said they can only provide information. They can鈥檛 process requests for students who are having trouble making their loan payments.
