Addressing ALL the Costs of College
By Lauren Stebbins on 11/11/2010 @ 01:07 PM
There’s no doubt about the grim context currently surrounding the subject of college affordability in the United States given the skyrocketing costs of both public and private colleges and universities. With that in mind because of a recent conversation I had with a friend about steep tuition hikes at private universities, I was happy to read about a program called Dreamkeepers, which provides funding in the form of grants to college students facing unexpected financial emergencies. Although Dreamkeepers is not a tuition assistance program, it does play a vital role in helping students stay in school and graduate on-time, ultimately helping them to stay on track to start a career or move on to a four-year college or university. Because the aid is issued to the students in the form of a grant, they are not required to pay it back and thus do not accumulate additional debt. Another great component is that students who receive aid through the program are also given access to a financial education tool so they can learn how to effectively manage their money. When Dreamkeepers was implemented in 2005, it was offered through 11 community colleges. Since then the program has expanded and is now offered through 19 additional community colleges plus one four-year university and one inner-city college.
The future of college affordability right now seems uncertain and even glum, but I think programs like Dreamkeepers prevent that future from looking too bleak. To read more about innovative concepts and programs addressing college affordability, check out the profile pages for Innovators Maggie Reilly and Peter Blanchard.
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