A team from the Pullias Center for Higher Education, led by associate professor Kristan Venegas, was recently awarded $10,000 by the MetLife Foundation for a project to develop a financial aid assistance mobile app for students from low-income families. The award was made as part of the competition “Out of the Classroom: Fresh Ideas for Financial Capability,” organized by the Corporation for Enterprise Development and sponsored by the MetLife Foundation. The Pullias Center was one of 10 winners selected out of more than 180 applicants.
“My project team is excited about the funding that the CFED/MetLife Grant provides,” said Venegas. “We've been working on getting funding for this idea and look forward to pilot testing our financial aid information and tracking app in early spring 2015.”
As described in the proposal, the app would be free and would allow students to manage their financial aid process from the time of application through acceptance of an offer and beyond, with timely reminders and real-time information. Given that information about tuition and financial aid is a critical element in the decision to attend or continue higher education, Venegas believes the mobile app will help reduce barriers to college completion posed by incomplete financial aid information.
“We were interested in developing a financial aid information and tracking app because we know—and national research shows—that many low-income students and families use their phones to access the web,” she says. “Since this is true, an interactive and free financial aid app should be one of the best ways to reach this community.”
Upon completion, the app will join an array of projects designed by Pullias to streamline the college application and financial aid process: Increasing Access via Mentoring, a one-on-one counseling program; SummerTime, a pre-college program to help admitted students clarify their financial aid goals; and Graduate Strike Force, a financial aid–based video game for middle and high school students.
