 The cohort default rate was initiated in the late 1980s as a way of drawing attention to institutions that were thought to be preying on low-income students who might have trouble re-paying their loans.There had been a burst of trade schools in cities with large minority populations and 
low-income residents who tried to build enrollment by encouraging academically 
under-qualified students to apply for loans that they would be unlikely to be able to repay, especially if they received a substandard education.The cohort default rate plan was that institutions with abnormally high default rates would be identified and held accountable for their actions.