The Missouri Department of Higher Education released grant funding this month to colleges and universities that applied for extra money to educate students on how to be smart student loan borrowers and how to avoid defaulting.

The Default Prevention Grant Program isn�t new to the state department, as this is the program�s 14th year, but four area institutions are getting the grant funding for the first or second year.

The University of Missouri, Stephens College, Columbia College and Moberly Area Community College all received grant funding for the 2014-15 academic year. Recipients can use the money at their own discretion, as long as it�s related to educating students on their loans.

This year, the Department of Higher Education awarded $823,751 to 31 Missouri institutions, private and public. The department can award as much as $890,000 in a year, but the amount fluctuates depending on how much selected applicants request for funding, department spokeswoman Liz Coleman said in an email. She said the maximum amount schools can request is $25,000.

Stephens College, Columbia College and Moberly Area Community college all received the maximum grant amount, Coleman said. MU received slightly less at $24,955.

Nick Prewett, director of financial aid at MU, said the grant money has allowed the university to explore which students are at risk for defaulting on loans. The university hired a part-time graduate student to explore risk factors when it received the grant last year.

�We were interested in seeing what impacts we could have as an institution if we put additional interest from our end on the subject,� Prewett said about what motivated him to apply for the grant. �We always had initiatives in our office like this, just not the resources to really do more programming. We had staff spending 10 to 15 percent of their time on these issues, but now we have a graduate student focused on it.�

Prewett said the grant also helps pay for brochures that talk about subjects such as repayment and better understanding differences between loans. This year, Prewett said MU plans to use more brochures and host more on-campus workshops to grab students� attention.

On-campus workshops are common at the local college grant recipient campuses.

Stephens College hosts two to three financial aid-themed events per semester, spokeswoman Janese Silvey said.

Columbia College wrapped up a pilot program last year that will continue and expand in 2014-15 with the help of the grant.

Rachel Smith, manager of registration and financial services, said the �Money Stacks� program, which promotes financial literacy, went well in its pilot phase last year.

�We want them to know what�s happening before they borrow,� Smith said. �We talk about budgeting, about loans and how debt for your education isn�t a bad thing.�