Our story on new San Diego for-profit education powerhouse Bridgepoint Educationfocused primarily on a consumer protection angle. Policymakers and regulators are concerned that if the school has such a high dropout rate and high profits, the federal financial aid debt Bridgepoint's students are taking on is going to investors rather than providing a good education.
But there's another concern, too. If Bridgepoint students are unable to repay their federal loans, it leaves the government on the hook.
And Bridgepoint students aren't keeping up with their loans as well as students at other schools, U.S. Department of Education data shows.
At Ashford University, Bridgepoint's primary college, 21.7 percent of students defaulted on their loans within three years, according to the department's most recent statistics. The national average is 13.7 percent.
Must-Read Stories on Bridgepoint
The high-rising San Diego company has been in the media spotlight a lot recently.