[Already under discussion by] legislators for dominating a state tuition grant program while producing low numbers of graduates, [Baker] also leads the state in student loan defaults, according to federal statistics.

Baker students defaulted on 521 federal loans in 2003, the last year for which figures are available. Those defaults accounted for almost one-fifth of all the defaults at 74 private colleges, community colleges and universities in Michigan that reported the figures to the government.

Baker's loan default rate of 7.4% was double the statewide average. Amounts in default were not available, though the average full-time student loan at Baker was about $3,900 in the 2003-04 school year.

Baker, the state's largest private college, with headquarters in Flint, attracts many low-income students and working adults who qualify for state and federal tuition grants and loans. A state House budget panel briefly debated Wednesday whether to hold a hearing on Baker in response to a Monday Free Press story. The report outlined how Baker receives $20.3 million -- or 38% -- of the Michigan Tuition Grant fund for private college students, yet graduates about one in five full-time students.