Le Moyne’s student loan default rate has fallen by more than half over the past nine years, according to the Federal Department of Education.

The rate was for federal loans was 7.3 percent in 2009 and is now 3.2 percent. A total of 932 Le Moyne College students entered loan repayment in 2013. After three years, 30 of them, or 3.2 percent, had defaulted loans.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the default rate for public institutions remained steady, at 11.3 percent, and rose for private colleges, from 7.0 percent to 7.4 percent.

As Le Moyne’s default rate percentage dropped over the course of nine years, the national rate for private schools has increased. According to the Chronicle, approximately 79.4 percent of Le Moyne graduates would have borrowed from the federal government.

According to the Chronicle, the default rate is the percentage of a school’s borrowers in the U.S. who enter repayment on certain loans during a federal fiscal year and default prior to the end of the next one to two fiscal years. A student is in default on a student loan if they have not made a payment in more than 270 days. The official student loan default rate for a school is calculated by measuring how many students are in default three years after graduation. Note that the default rate only considers federal loans, not private.

Sharon Halpin, Le Moyne’s director of the Financial Aid Department, attributed the decline of the default rate the company called Inceptia. Halpin said that loan default rates have indicated how well Le Moyne College is helping students afford to attend college without undue reliance on loans, particularly unsubsidized loans.

“I understand that student loans can be intimidating and that is why Le Moyne has employed the services of Inceptia,” said Halpin

According to Inceptia’s website, Inceptia is a division of the National Student Loan Program that provides students with free assistance on their student loan obligations to ensure that students feel comfortable and can be successful in loan repayment. Inceptia’s job is to call graduate students to help guide them on their journey for repaying the federal loans.

Halpin attributed most Le Moyne’s success in keeping the default rate down to Inceptia’s work. “We pay Inceptia about $35 per student when they work with and resolve a past due payment or default case,” she said.

Halpin declined to say how many Le Moyne students Inceptia works with. Inceptia could not be reached despite many attempts.