Pay it Forward
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Tuition, Loans, College
Abstract
An initiative called Pay It Forward has been introduced in various states by the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI). The idea behind the initiative is to change the way students pay for public college and ultimately make public college more accessible for students. The initiative takes a different approach to paying for college than traditional loans. Students pay no tuition or fees upfront, instead after graduation, students pay a certain percentage of their Annual Gross Income (AGI) for a specified amount of time. Currently, the payback period is being discussed as 20 or 25 years, and the equity stock or percentage of student’s income that they are required to pay is being discussed as 0.75 to 1 percent per year of college. A cohort study is used to assess the initiative Pay It Forward from the student and state’s perspective in Washington state. Factors such as median time to graduate college with a four-year degree, average cost of tuition and fees, tuition inflation, Washington State’s borrowing rate, starting or entry level salary for a 2014 graduate, annual salary increases, salary inflation, and population growth are used in assessing the initiative. The ultimate question is whether it is cost effective for states to move forward and bear the burden of college tuition and fees. If not, then what variables or factors need to change to make it feasible such as higher starting salaries for grads, larger percentages of income for repayment, or longer payback periods are a few examples.
Recommended Citation
Elshoff, Colby, "Pay it Forward" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 154.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/posters/154
Poster Number
56
Additional Mentoring Department
Economics
Pay it Forward
SURC Ballroom C/D
An initiative called Pay It Forward has been introduced in various states by the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI). The idea behind the initiative is to change the way students pay for public college and ultimately make public college more accessible for students. The initiative takes a different approach to paying for college than traditional loans. Students pay no tuition or fees upfront, instead after graduation, students pay a certain percentage of their Annual Gross Income (AGI) for a specified amount of time. Currently, the payback period is being discussed as 20 or 25 years, and the equity stock or percentage of student’s income that they are required to pay is being discussed as 0.75 to 1 percent per year of college. A cohort study is used to assess the initiative Pay It Forward from the student and state’s perspective in Washington state. Factors such as median time to graduate college with a four-year degree, average cost of tuition and fees, tuition inflation, Washington State’s borrowing rate, starting or entry level salary for a 2014 graduate, annual salary increases, salary inflation, and population growth are used in assessing the initiative. The ultimate question is whether it is cost effective for states to move forward and bear the burden of college tuition and fees. If not, then what variables or factors need to change to make it feasible such as higher starting salaries for grads, larger percentages of income for repayment, or longer payback periods are a few examples.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Wassell, Charles, Jr.