Student loan defaults tick down

The number of defaults on student loans has ticked down, according to new data from the Obama administration.

{mosads}The Education Department said Wednesday that 13.7 percent of students who left school in 2011 defaulted — down from 14.7 percent the previous year.

Still, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that figure was far too high. The department tracks default rates among public and private schools, as well as for-profit colleges. 

“We remain committed to working with postsecondary education institutions and borrowers to ensure that student debt is manageable,” Duncan said in a statement.

President Obama has sought ways to reduce student loan defaults, including with a new cap on how much a borrower has to repay in a given month.

Private school students are the least likely to default, at 7.2 percent from the 2011 class, down from 8.2 percent. Public-school defaults stayed roughly level from 2010 to 2011, ticking down from 13 percent to 12.9 percent.

Students at for-profit colleges remained the most likely to default, at 19.1 percent, down from 21.8 percent the previous year.