Saving Financial Aid: Expanding Educational Opportunity
Channel: New America
Date: 15/07/2013

Saving Financial Aid:
Expanding Educational Opportunity and Reimagining the Way We Pay for College by Promoting Children's Savings

In Collaboration with the Assets and Education Initiative at the University of Kansas

A college education has never been more important to succeeding in the job market and earning a good living. For millions of low- and moderate- income students, however, the cost of attendance requires taking on a mountain of debt or puts the credential out of reach altogether. Unfortunately, none of the common proposals for fixing financial aid -- forgiving loans, lowering interest rates, increasing tax credits, tuition guarantees -- focus on the one lever that simultaneously improves college affordability, readiness, completion, and financial security in adulthood: children's financial assets.

A new report, Building Expectations, Delivering Results, from the Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI) at the University of Kansas suggests that investing in policies that build children's savings could revolutionize the way that financial assistance is conceived and delivered and improve educational outcomes along the way. Could savings offer an alternative to the debt-driven model of higher education finance? What kinds of policies would be necessary to extend the opportunity to save to all children regardless of family income?
 
On July 15th, the New America Foundation and the AEDI at the University of Kansas explored how our financial aid system could be remade to promote savings and opportunity with a distinguished panel of experts.

Introduction
Rosemary Byrnes
Program Officer, College Success, Citi Foundation
 
Speakers
William Elliott
Director, Assets and Education Initiative, University of Kansas

Melinda Lewis
Policy Director, Assets and Education Initiative, University of Kansas

Panel
Dana Goldstein
Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation

Michael McPherson
President, Spencer Foundation
Co-author, Rethinking Pell Grants, College Board

Ben Miller
Senior Policy Analyst, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation

Moderator
Rachel Black
Senior Policy Analyst, Asset Building Program, New America Foundation

http://newamerica.net/events/2013/saving_financial_aid