Community college borrowers who drop out of their programs or fail to complete at least 15 required credits are much more likely to default on their federal loans, a new report suggests.

The report, published by the Association of Community College Trustees and the Institute for College Access & Success, analyzed data about who borrows and who defaults at nine community colleges across the country. (Hawaii didn’t participate in the study.)

Students who failed to complete their programs were two to five times more likely to default than their more successful peers, the report says.

Honolulu Community College in April 2014

But other findings were less consistent. Default rates among “higher-risk” populations were not always higher than they were for “lower-risk populations. For example, while federal Pell Grant recipients — typically students who have family incomes below $40,000 — were 4 percent more likely to default than non-recipients at one college, they were 20 percent more likely to default at another college.

“Defaults are not destiny for any group of borrowers,” said Lauren Asher, president of the college success institute, in a statement. “When colleges look closely at who is defaulting on their campus, it’s clear that the solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all.”

About 40 percent of all undergraduate students in the nation attend community colleges, though only about 17 percent of those students rely on federal loans. But with college costs increasing at a higher rate than grant income or family incomes, more students are needing to borrow to fill that gap.

A Civil Beat analysis of default rates across Hawaii’s public and private campuses revealed that the state as a whole is well under the national student loan rate: 49 percent versus 15 percent.

However, great disparities exist within the state.

For example, while 29 percent of borrowers at Hilo’s Hawaii Community College defaulted on their loans after entering repayment in 2010, the percentage was about 12 percent at Leeward Community College and Kauai Community College.

Defaulting refers to students who’ve ultimately missed more than a year’s worth of monthly payments and comes with serious consequences, including steep collection fees, a poor credit score and the threat of legal action, among other penalties.

The report outlines several federal policy recommendations to improve community colleges’ default reduction efforts. It asks the U.S. Department of Education to:

• Provide guidance on colleges’ options for managing student debt and preventing default and make the National Student Loan Data System more user-friendly for college administrators
• Improve entrance and exit counseling for students
• Improve and streamline loan servicing

Colleges profiled in the report include Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Wash.; Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif.; and Valencia College in Orlando, Fla.

Here’s a map showing default rates in Hawaii:

Read more about default rates at Hawaii colleges here.