[November 17, 2014]

Oregon Office of Student Access and Completion and The Ford Family Foundation Team Up with SALT to Provide Financial Education to Students and Families

The Oregon Office of Student Access and Completion and The Ford Family Foundation are joining SALT™ (www.saltmoney.org) and a growing number of higher education institutions, nonprofits and corporate sponsors to provide students and families with the money knowledge they need to pay for, and pay back, college costs.

SALT, created by the nonprofit American Student Assistance, is a leading financial education and engagement program that uses a combination of online and one-to-one interactions to empower students and alumni to confidently approach, manage, and pay back college costs while gaining financial skills for life. Under the partnership announced today, OSAC and The Ford Family Foundation will help promote SALT's financial education and debt management resources to students throughout Oregon.

"OSAC is committed to helping Oregon achieve its '40-40-20' goal of ensuring that 40 percent of Oregonians have an associate's degree or a meaningful postsecondary certificate by 2025, and 40 percent have a bachelor's or advanced degree," said Bob Brew, OSAC executive director. "With the cost of college ever escalating, we're excited to partner with SALT to give students the information and tools they need to make wise decisions before, during and after college so they can maximize all the financial benefits of a highereducation."

Recipients of need-based scholarships administered by OSAC, as well as students enrolled in OSAC's ASPIRE mentor outreach program, will be able to take advantage of SALT's signature "My Money 101™" online personal finance curriculum (available in English and Spanish); a Repayment Navigator to track loans and compare repayment plans; search engines for scholarships and careers/internships; as well as blogs, articles, videos, calculators, tools and apps that teach users how to take control of finances. Under the terms of the agreement, OSAC students will also be eligible to access one-on-one student loan counseling from SALT experts, and will receive proactive, customized information and guidance from SALT at regular intervals.

In addition to OSAC, The Ford Family Foundation will also make SALT available to approximately 1,000 current recipients of the Foundation's four scholarship programs and more than 4,300 alumni.

"While our Scholarship Programs are about so much more than the money, we understand that financial concerns weigh heavily on students and graduates throughout the communities we serve in rural Oregon and Northern California," said Denise Callahan, Director of Scholarship Programs at The Ford Family Foundation. "SALT contributes to our mission of successful citizens and vital rural communities by helping to produce a highly educated workforce of financially confident and competent consumers."

Nearly 300 higher education institutions, nonprofits and corporate sponsors nationwide, including 18 higher education institutions in Oregon, currently partner with SALT to bring its resources to approximately 2.5 million students and alumni.

Nationally, student loan debt now stands at more than $1 trillion, eclipsing all other forms of consumer debt except mortgages. According to the Project on Student Debt, 60 percent of all Oregon students take out student loans for an average total debt of just under $27,000.

Visit www.asa.org to learn more about partnership opportunities with SALT.

About SALT and American Student Assistance: SALT is a free educational resource that provides money knowledge for college and beyond. With a combination of helpful tools, tailored information, and unbiased expertise, SALT helps young people successfully pay for, and repay, college costs. SALT was created by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit organization with 50+ years' experience helping people make better decisions about financing their education and repaying student loans. Visit www.saltmoney.org or www.asa.org, or call 617.728.4631 for more information.

© 2014. American Student Assistance. All rights reserved. SALT, SALT logo, American Student Assistance, and ASA are trademarks of American Student Assistance.

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