SAN DIEGO--iGrad has launched a customized, interactive online and mobile financial wellness platform for San Francisco State University’s more than 23,000 students.

iGrad’s platform for SF State students¹ includes comprehensive customized and interactive information on everything from building and maintaining good credit, budgeting and money management to student loan/debt management and loan calculators.

Research shows that student financial literacy programs can decrease financial stress, improve academic performance and teach students how to manage their finances for a lifetime.

With declining enrollment and degree-achievement rates across the nation, bolstering student financial literacy is a priority for many colleges and universities. Since the start of the pandemic, college enrollment has declined 5.1 percent, with “unprecedented” declines among students from low-income or high-poverty high schools, according to a new report² by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics³ shows that, even pre-pandemic, the degree achievement rate for all students nationally was only about 62 percent.

“Now more than ever, college students are facing tremendous financial challenges impacting enrollment, retention and the level of student loan debt, which is already the second-largest category of debt in the country,” said iGrad Vice President of Business Development Donna Miller. 

iGrad is currently used by more than 600 public and private colleges and universities of all sizes, including San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, New York University and  Davidson College.

Based on artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms, iGrad personalizes financial information for each student’s situation and needs. It also offers:

  • Tools, quizzes, videos, articles and a library of multimedia content.
  • A student loan tracking tool which aggregates student loan balances and estimates monthly payments, helping to prepare students for these payments after graduation.
  • Because it adapts to each user’s specific circumstances, it can even provide interactive educational content on retirement and mortgages to those who need it.

About iGrad

iGrad is a San Diego-based financial technology company that offers artificial intelligence-powered financial wellness solutions to more than 600 colleges and universities, more than 20,000 employers and more than 300 financial institutions.  iGrad’s Your Money Personality™ was recently recognized by the Institute for Financial Literacy with the 2020 Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Adults’ Education Program of the Year award. iGrad is one of three 2020 honorees in the inaugural Barron's Celebrates: Financial Empowerment, after being selected by a team of judges for its contributions to improving the financial health and security of Americans. iGrad also received the 2019 Eddy Award for Financial Wellness by Pensions & Investments for its Enrich platform. For more information about the iGrad platform, visit https://www.igradfinancialwellness.com. For more information about the Enrich platform for employers and financial institutions, visit http://www.enrich.org.

1 - https://sfsu.igrad.com/

2 - https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/

3 - https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_ctr.asp