Earlier this week, I wrote about my work at the Assets and Education Initiative, and what we’re trying to do to sort of upend the conversation about financial aid and higher education and student debt, in pursuit of an education system–and a way of financing it–capable of delivering far more equitable outcomes for those disadvantaged today.
Today, I want to share some of the resources and tools we’ve developed as part of this.
I know that most of my readers are touched in some way by our higher education system–indeed, I would argue that we all are, at least indirectly, given that education is so powerful in shaping economic opportunities and structures–as students or recent graduates, faculty members or advocates.
We are certainly not alone in raising these questions, but I am proud of the role that we’re playing, and I am excited to more explicitly share this work with you, in a sort of ‘full circle’ way.
I would welcome your comments and questions. One of the most fun things about working in an evolving field is the ability to be pretty nimble and responsive, like when a reporter’s question about the level of savings that it would really take for a Children’s Savings Account to make a difference for a student’s likelihood of going to college led to a new line of research that revealed, somewhat startlingly, significant improvements in educational outcomes just from opening a savings account, and sizable differences for those students with about $500 saved.
Your question might just spark the next line of inquiry; regardless, these are conversations we must have.
Our education system isn’t just about who we are today, or what students encounter upon enrollment.
It’s about who we will become and the stories we tell ourselves about what is possible in this country.
It is an honor to be part of that.
- Video outlining shift from debt-dependent to asset-based financial aid
- Video outlining policy changes for a 21st Century financial aid system
- Article highlighting our early work on the effects of student debt
- AEDI main site, with links to our work on student debt, pilot programs instituting children’s savings accounts, and other efforts
