Historically, private education has been an option mostly for families who could afford the cost or received financial help. Years of research have shown that many families would choose private schools and other educational resources for their children if they did not face insurmountable financial or geographical limitations. Private educational…

Oklahoma public comprehensive university presidents face many challenges. Among the top challenges is the quest for adequate funding of their institutions, including adequate levels of support from state resources. For Oklahoma's public comprehensive universities and their leaders, the low levels of public support by the state have become a…

School choice critics argue that choice programs drain resources from public schools and therefore harm students who remain in them. Because policymakers are tasked with balancing their states' budgets and ensuring that their public schools meet educational provisions in their states' constitutions, they are concerned with the fiscal effects of…

After decades of making minor tweaks to the U.S. financial aid system, there is a need to develop truly novel approaches to paying for college. Until now, the goal of financial aid has been narrowly framed as providing young adults with enough money to pay for college while minimizing the short-term burden to taxpayers. Because of this narrow…

Financial literacy rates across the United States are in general considered low. The research question being addressed is whether or not the typical educational experience at OSU adequately addresses the financial literacy needs of OSU students. Low financial literacy is a serious problem that leads to poor choices regarding significant financial…

Trellis' Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) seeks to document the financial well-being of post-secondary students and provide institutions with a detailed profile of the financial issues their students face, some of which could potentially impact their success in college. This report details aggregated findings for the 89 colleges and…

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) aim to increase college completion rates among disadvantaged youth by helping youth see themselves as "college bound." This article summarizes findings about the implementation and impacts of universal, progressive CDAs, with emphasis on outcomes for disadvantaged children. Data come from a large…

Early awareness strategies, from outreach campaigns to cohort-based learning groups to scholarships, are a group of efforts that help middle school students stay on the path to college and understand how to fund their education. These strategies become part of early awareness programs, which seek to put students on a college-going path by…

This study examines the impacts of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on account holding, saving, and asset accumulation for children, using data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (SEED OK). SEED OK, a policy test of universal and progressive CDAs, provides a 529 college savings plan account to every infant in the treatment group with…

Objective: We examine the effects of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on parenting stress and practices. Methods: We use data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment. SEED OK selected caregivers of infants from Oklahoma birth certificates using a probability sampling method, randomly assigned caregivers to the treatment (n = 1,132)…

In 2011, the Arizona State Legislature adopted a law creating the first education savings account (ESA) in the United States. Following Arizona's lead, several other states, including Florida Tennessee,Mississippi and Nevada, have implemented ESA policies. Typical eligibility requirements include conditions such as a pupil's diagnosed disability,…

States are recognizing the need for personal financial education and have begun requiring it as a condition for high school graduation. Responding to teacher requests to help them meet state-mandated financial education requirements, FCS educators in the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service developed a financial education tool kit. This article…

This paper presents evidence from a randomized field experiment testing the impact of a 3-year matched savings program on educational outcomes 10 years after the start of the experiment. We examine the effect of an Individual Development Account (IDA) program on (1) educational enrollment, (2) degree completion, and (3) increased education level.…

The research reported here assessed the financial literacy of older adults living in rural communities, current use of and attitudes towards debt, and debt pressures. Those surveyed exhibit low credit card usage and responsible payment practices. Most never use credit to pay medical expenses. Respondents display a financial literacy level similar…

"Creating a Financial Stake in College" is a four-part series of reports that focuses on the relationship between children's savings and improving college success. This series examines: (1) why policymakers should care about savings, (2) the relationship between inequality and bank account ownership, (3) the connections between savings…