With the cost of student debt surpassing credit card debt, those students who default on their student loans are not only affected but the colleges and universities they attended are affected as well. The purpose of this study is to compare default rates before and after the amendment to the Higher Education Act of 2008. This study will identify non-profit, four-year public institutions and private four-year institutions located in Arkansas and compare their default rates based on the two-year and three-year cohort default rates. Data mining will be used to compare two-year and three-year cohort default rates as well as the amount of financial aid awarded, costs of tuition, graduation rates, retention rates, costs of living, median incomes and unemployment rates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]