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The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) recently released a report entitled "Delinquency: The Untold Story of Student Loan Borrowing" [PDF file], which examines student borrowers' repayment behavior.

The study looked at more than 8.7 million student loan recipients with almost 27.5 million loans who entered repayment between October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2009.

During that time period, approximately 37 percent of borrowers managed to make timely payments without postponing payments or becoming delinquent, while almost a quarter percent postponed their payments, 26 percent became delinquent without default, and 15 percent not only became delinquent but defaulted on their loans.

Key findings included the following:

• For every student loan borrower who defaults, at least two more borrowers become delinquent without default.
• Two out of five student loan borrowers are delinquent at some point in the first five years after entering repayment. This equates to 41 percent of the borrowers (712,000 borrowers and $11.6 billion in loan activity) who faced the negative consequences of delinquency or default.
• Certain student loan borrowers--those considered more at risk than their peers--may require additional attention and information to prevent delinquency and default. For example, the rates of delinquency and default were generally much higher for borrowers who had not graduated than for those who had.

"We hope these findings will inform policies that can help borrowers avoid facing the negative consequences of delinquency and default, as well as institute practices that will include proactive and timely communications about repayment options--including deferment and forbearance--to protect the future financial well-being of those who must borrow to pay a portion of their college costs," IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D said in a statement.

The information used in the report was made available by five large student loan guaranty agencies: American Student Assistance, ECMC, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, Texas Guaranteed, and USA Funds.

For more from Schools.com on paying for school, read:

• New Facebook tool to connect students with scholarships
• AP/Viacom survey: young adults see social media as key for jobs, education
• AP/Viacom survey: money a big factor in young adults' school, career choices
• Budget deal protects Pell Grants for low-income learners