Skip to main content
  • About IHEP
    • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
        • BEAMS
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

25 Years of Equity

Twitter Facebook

  • About IHEP
    • Message from our President
    • History
    • What We Do
      • Current Initiatives
        • Postsecondary Data Collaborative
        • Degrees When Due
        • Assessing The Impact of Prison-Based Postsecondary Education Programs
      • Previous Initiatives
        • Global Initiatives
          • Global Policy Fellows Program
        • IHEP Champions of Access and Success
        • College Not Prison
        • Minority-Serving Institutions-Models of Success Program
        • Film Series: Federal Student Aid History
        • Summer Academy
          • Participating Institutions
        • Community Partnership for Attainment
          • Participating Communities
        • Symposium on Financial Literacy and College Success at Minority-Serving Institutions
          • Participating Institutions
        • Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative
          • Participating Institutions
        • BEAMS
          • Participating Institutions
        • Project Win-Win
        • Redefining Access for the 21st-Century Student
        • Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery
        • Pathways to College Network
    • Who We Are
      • IHEP Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Emeritus
    • Partners
      • Funding Partners
    • Working at IHEP
      • Career Opportunities
  • Policy Priorities
    • Affordability & Need-Based Aid
    • Data & Transparency
    • Degree Completion
    • Higher Education for Students Impacted by the Criminal Justice System
  • Research
    • Publications
    • Search Publications
  • Press
    • News Releases
    • Letters, Opinions, and Statements
    • Press Clips
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

You are here

Home / Research / Publications

Better Together: Policies That Link Children's Savings Accounts With Access Initiatives to Pave the Way to College

Authors: Allison Beer, Julie Ajinkya Ph.D., and Carl Rist

Published: May 2017

Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs) are proven tools designed to help low- and moderate-income families save for college and build students' expectations for attendance. But for many low-income families who can benefit most from these tools, the challenge to save and pay for college is underscored by systemic barriers connected to income and wealth inequality. This makes it difficult for many to set aside even modest amounts of money for future education after covering more immediate expenses.

State and local policymakers, as well as CSA program leaders can help.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) co-authored Better Together: Policies That Link Children's Savings Accounts With Access Initiatives to Pave the Way to College. The report details how policymakers and CSA program leaders who are seeking equity-minded strategies can support low-income families save and pay for college by:

  • Integrating CSAs with broader college affordability initiatives, such as well-designed college promise programs;
  • Integrating CSAs with social services that address families' holistic financial needs; and
  • Implementing CSA programs alongside robust community engagement efforts to build trust and encourage participation.

CSAs can help bridge college access and affordability divides between low-income and higher-income families. By adopting these equity-minded strategies, policymakers and program leaders can help more families improve wealth building, increase postsecondary attainment, and support intergenerational mobility for students.

This report and our research into issues of students’ access and success in postsecondary education were made possible through generous support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

Join the conversation on Twitter using #CSAopportunities.

Better Together Cover
View PDF

Factsheets

  • PDF icon One-Page Summary

Policy Priorities

  • Access & Success
  • Affordability & Finance

More Like This

  • The State of Free College: Tennessee Promise and New York’s Excelsior Scholarship
  • It’s All Relative: The Role of Parents in College Financing and Enrollment
  • Is College Affordable? In Search of a Meaningful Definition
  • The Cost of Opportunity: Student Stories of College Affordability
  • Opportunity Lost: Net Price and Equity at Public Flagship Institutions
  • Publications
  • Search Publications

© Institute for Higher Education Policy 1993-2020.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE (202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org  |  Join Our Mailing List | Read Our Privacy Policy | Read Our Informed Consent Policy

© Institute for Higher Education Policy
1993-2014.
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 720 
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 861-8223 TELEPHONE
(202) 861-9307 FAX
institute@ihep.org
Join Our Mailing List