BOSTON, Oct. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than fifty colleges and universities are preparing for the first-ever "Know Your Money Day – Powered by SALT™," a day dedicated to helping students make the best of the investment they make in higher education through information and resources about paying for, and paying back, college costs. SALT is a leading financial education program, created by the nonprofit American Student Assistance®.
With recent data from the U.S. Department of Education showing that less than half of all federal student loan borrowers pay back their student loans on time, the need for resources that boost students' money knowledge before, during, and after college has never been greater.
"We want students to feel informed and empowered as they continue to make decisions about paying for their education, and then help them through the repayment process," said Paul Combe, CEO of American Student Assistance. "Know Your Money Day is a creative, engaging way to help give students the information they need now to make smart decisions about paying for college and position them for financial success in their future."
The goal of Know Your Money Day, occurring on select campuses nationwide on October 7, is to generate awareness of SALT resources that students and alumni can use to manage their finances, eliminate any student debt and build better financial competencies for life. SALT uses a combination of online, social and one-to-one interactions to teach students and college graduates how to make smart and informed decisions about college costs.
Each participating school is among SALT's 300 sponsors, which include higher education institutions, nonprofits, and corporations, who along with American Student Assistance enable the provision of the program to over 3.5 million students and alumni. Free to all who sign up is access to the program's easy-to-use online tools and calculators, tailored educational articles, videos, and self-paced online financial education courses. Students, alumni or employees associated with a SALT sponsor also receive access to the My Money 101 lesson and personalized one-on-one loan repayment counseling via phone and live chat.
About American Student Assistance & SALT:
American Student Assistance (asa.org) is a private nonprofit dedicated to helping people make better decisions about financing higher education and repaying student loans, so they can become confident, financially competent consumers. After working with millions of student borrowers, American Student Assistance combined 50+ years of knowledge and best practices into a powerful Responsible Borrower Program called SALT™. Working with more than 250 higher education institutions, nonprofits, and corporations nationwide, SALT (saltmoney.org) provides the tools and resources student borrowers need, when they need them—teaching students to borrow smart, borrow less, and repay well. Higher education institutions can visit asa.org/schools.
© 2014. American Student Assistance. All rights reserved. SALT, SALT logo, American Student Assistance, and ASA are trademarks of American Student Assistance.