WASHINGTON — In an effort to reduce student debt and the debilitating effect that it can have on graduation rates, a pair of University of Kansas researchers on Monday suggested Children’s Savings Accounts—or CSAs—as a way to transform the way students pay for college.
“As a nation, we can’t significantly increase college completion rates—essential to global competitiveness—by relying disproportionately on borrowing,” said William Elliott III, assistant professor and director of the Assets and Education Initiative within the School of Social Welfare at KU.
“We need a financial aid system equipped to deliver excellent outcomes in the post-modern world,” he said.
Universal participation in CSAs would be a prominent feature of such a system, said Melinda Lewis, policy director at the Assets and Education Initiative.
“Every child should be automatically enrolled in a Children’s Savings Account, preferably at birth,” Lewis said.
The reason, she said, is because research shows better participation and stronger outcomes when you let families opt out of CSAs instead of opting in.
“It doesn’t mean that every family has to have the same experience,” Lewis said. “Universal participation can still accommodate special outreach to and special incentives for lower income families.”
