Higher education leaders are looking for high impact ways to improve retention and graduation rates in a climate of austere budgets. Increasingly, higher education sees the interplay of finances and academic performance as a key driver of student success. Across the nation, measurable improvements in student success outcomes are observed when…

As the COVID-19 pandemic is proving, maintaining student financial wellness is key to keeping students enrolled. The Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) was open from October 2020 to November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crisis were prominent concerns for students as they navigated a mostly remote learning…

In January 2017, Trellis launched a nine-month study aimed at better understanding the non-academic challenges that postsecondary students face and the ways they try to meet their basic needs while pursuing academic goals. Working with 11 institutions in Texas and Florida, researchers recruited a cohort of 72 current undergraduate students. Though…

Higher education leaders are looking for high impact ways to improve retention and graduation rates in a climate of austere budgets. Increasingly, higher education sees the interplay of finances and academic performance as a key driver of student success. Across the nation, measurable improvements in student success outcomes are observed when…

This module discusses several borrowing schemes to help students see more clearly the effects of borrowing money on both the lender and the borrower. They include borrowing from personal lenders, from "5-6" operators, and from credit unions. Three exercise sets with answers (one for each borrowing scheme), a short list of references, and…

A counseling program prepared for Georgetown University School of Dentistry is described. It trains students in concepts associated with short- and long-term financial planning, banking relationships, credit, business planning and structuring debt into an individual student's lifestyle. (MLW)

This booklet, designed to help Colorado higher education students make informed decisions about undertaking educational loans, contains information on determining a reasonable debt level, budgeting future expenses, and available loan programs. Following an introduction, Part 1 introduces the reader to the basics of educational loans including…

Arguing that the benefits from borrowing abroad exceed the costs recently imposed on countries through debt-servicing difficulties, this paper defines debt as an engine of growth, forcing the borrower to produce goods efficiently, export them, and function competitively in the international market. Debt-servicing difficulties of developing nations…

Borrowing has become the indispensable means for financing higher education, primarily through the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program. The entire structure of expectations that sustains higher education has been transformed by debt, and incentives for borrowers and lenders have created student debt expansion. (MLW)

A historical perspective on the organization and administration of the National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) Program is reported in this study, particularly as it relates to persisting concerns about the default rate. Chapter 1 explains the origin, purpose, and provisions of the program. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the study, including both…

This module on how one's credit history will affect one's credit future is one of ten in the Money Smart curriculum, and includes an instructor guide and a take-home guide. It was developed to help adults outside the financial mainstream enhance their money skills and create positive banking relationships. It is designed to make participants…

This book provides information to prospective graduate students on how to acquire financial assistance for their graduate programs by explaining (1) what the difference is between undergraduate and graduate aid; (2) aid eligibility; (3) where to go for funding and how much is available; (4) how to be "marketable" to targeted funding sources; (5)…

During academic year (AY) 1996-97, 83,000 students left Texas postsecondary institutions with $882 million in federally guaranteed loans. This study attempts to analyze the cumulative Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation loan indebtedness of student borrowers who left postsecondary educational institutions from AY 1991 through 1997. The major…

One of a series of units on business issues designed for secondary school students, this packet examines the responsibilities of the lender and consumer in the credit business. Teacher and student materials are provided in separate sections. The teacher's guide presents five detailed lesson plans, each focusing on a credit case study; discussion…

Designed to assist professionals who are confronted with clients in need of financial guidance, this financial counseling manual is presented in seven chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on the helping relationship and discusses counselor attitudes, client characteristics, making contacts, and interviewing. Chapter 2 explains the causes of over-extension…