It’s probably not surprising to learn in this economy that student loan default rates are on the rise. That is the case at least judging by a snapshot of one cohort group in the last year.

In Missouri, the default rate rose to 6.09 percent — up from 4.3 percent the previous year. That mirrors the nationwide trend — a 6.7 percent default rate, up from 5.2 percent the year before. In Illinois, the rate was 6.9 percent. (Click here to see a state-by-state breakdown.)

These default rates are of the cohort of borrowers who first loan repayments came due between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007, and who defaulted before September 30, 2008.

Nationwide, about 3.3 million people entered repayment during this time, and more than 225,300 of them went into default.

“The economic downturn likely had a significant impact on the borrowers captured in these rates,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a news release.

Leanne Cardwell, assistant commissioner of higher education in Missouri, said she expects similar — or higher default rates — next year because of the economic downturn.

In Missouri, 4,617 out of 75,925 borrowers in this cohort group are in default.

“Although the default rate is up significantly, most borrowers are still meeting their student loan obligations,” Cardwell said in a news release. “In 1990, the national default rate was over 20 percent, so by comparison the current rate is low and reflects an increased focus on default prevention efforts.”

Since 2001, the Missouri higher education department has given more than $4.2 million in grants to higher education institutions who want to reduce their default rates. The grants go towards teaching students about money management.

The all-time high national default rate — 22.4 percent — was set in FY 1990. The record low was 4.5 percent in FY 2003.

Schools with excessively high default rates may lose eligibility for some federal student aid programs. This year, two schools in Texas are subject to sanctions.

I looked up some Missouri and Illinois schools to see what the student loan default rate was for their students in this cohort. Harris-Stowe State University, Vatterott College, Sanford-Brown College, and St. Louis Community College had some of the highest default rates. Meanwhile, Washington University, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri-Columbia had some of the lowest default rates.

Here’s a list, in no particular order:

• University of Missouri-Columbia: 2.4 percent (up from 2.3)
• University of Missouri-St. Louis: 3.4 percent (up from 3.1)
• Washington University: 0.6 percent (down from 0.9)
• St. Louis University: 2.3 percent (up from 1.0)
• St. Louis Community College: 8.1 percent (up from 5.6)
• St. Charles Community College: 4.8 percent (up from 4.5)
• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: 3.4 percent (up from 3.3)
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale: 4.6 percent (down from 4.8)
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: 1.7 percent (up from 1.1)
• McKendree University: 5.4 percent (up from 3.2)
• Vatterott College (in Berkeley, Mo.): 14.2 percent (up from 11.1)
• Sanford-Brown College (in Fenton, Mo.): 7.4 percent (up from 6.2)
• Harris-Stowe State University: 12.1 percent (up from 8.7 percent)

Borrowers who need help repaying their loans can go to www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov or can contact their loan holders to learn about other repayment options.

The Grade is the St. Louis region’s premier blog on education and child welfare. To read other recent posts, go to www.stltoday.com/thegrade.