Council for the Management of Educational Finance and TG recognize UT-Austin with the 2006 Commitment to Student Success Award
Submitted by Maria Luna-Torres, Director, Educational Finance Initiatives

Every year, the Commitment to Student Success Award is presented by the Council for the Management of Educational Finance and TG to institutions that have performed extraordinarily well in the areas of debt management and default prevention. The focus of the Commitment to Student Success Award is recognition of debt management strategies that have a long-term effect on students’ success in repayment; the focus goes beyond the two-year cohort default rate.

After a thorough evaluation of applications, the Council awarded the 2006 Commitment to Student Success Award to the University of Texas at Austin for its Pathways to Progress Program. The Pathways to Progress Program is an example of true collaboration between departments on campus to ensure a student's success in loan repayment and proper debt management. The Council and TG recognized UT-Austin at TASFAA's Annual Conference in San Antonio on October 12. Congratulations, UT!

Following are some highlights of UT's Pathways to Progress Program:

Developed in 2004 by the UT financial aid staff, the Pathways to Progress program is based on the philosophy that students who succeed academically get to keep their financial aid, graduate from college, and are best prepared to manage their student debt after graduation.

In line with this philosophy, at the end of every fall semester, UT identifies all freshman students who have two or more F's and are financial aid recipients. In an effort to assist students in improving their grades and thus prevent them from losing their financial aid, this population of students is required to embark on the Pathways to Progress Program. Among various strategies and activities, the Pathways to Progress Program requires that students:

• Meet with professors at the beginning of the semester to establish communication from the start
• Consult with academic advisors during the semester to ensure that the student is on the right track.
• Participate in academic enrichment activities such as tutoring and time-management workshops
• Consult with their financial aid advisor and develop a budget to track their use of financial resources
• Attend money management workshops

Since the program’s inception, nearly 300 students have benefited, with more than 70 percent having raised their GPAs within one year.

For more information about the Commitment to Student Success Award, contact Maria Luna-Torres, Director, Educational Finance Initiatives at maria.luna-torres@tgslc.org or 1-800-252-9743 ext. 4632. To view past year awards, visit www.tgslc.org/council/index.cfm.