SAN DIEGO--iGrad has partnered with Indiana University Online to provide its customized, interactive online and mobile student financial wellness platform to the public university’s more than 8,000 online degree students.
iGrad’s platform at IU 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.
iGrad is a San Diego-based financial technology company that provides artificial intelligence-powered financial wellness solutions to more than 2.7 million students at 650 colleges and universities, over 20,000 employers and more than 300 financial institutions.
Research shows that student financial literacy programs like iGrad can decrease financial stress, improve academic performance and teach students how to manage their finances for a lifetime.
“Financial literacy goes beyond understanding the impact of a student’s financial investment in their education to encompass a broad scope of financial decisions and planning that impact students’ lives and goals,” said Whitnie Powell, IU director of Enrollment Management & Student Services. “For many of our online students, IU Online is only one chapter of their story, and we wanted the ability to provide them with an always-on free resource to support their overall financial wellness. Our goal is that iGrad proves to be a complimentary addition to our wrap-around support portfolio that our online students have meaningful engagement with.”
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting and investing. Financially literate people have a feeling of control over their finances while also using money as a tool to freely make choices that build greater life satisfaction.1
Bolstering student financial literacy has become a priority for many colleges and universities, which have been experiencing enrollment declines for years2–attributed at least in part to tuition costs and the prospect of student loans.
Research shows that current college students are lacking in financial literacy: One in five don’t know how much student loan debt they’ll have upon graduation and the nearly half who know the total amount of debt don’t know what their monthly payment will be.3
Multiple studies have shown that financially literate college students are more likely to graduate, perform better academically, experience less stress, have lower student loan debt, be more prepared for student loan payments after graduation, and more.
“Students, colleges and universities are facing tremendous financial challenges that impact enrollment, graduation rates 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. “Indiana University Online has prioritized student financial literacy and we are thrilled to be a key part of their efforts.”
iGrad is currently used by public and private colleges and universities of all sizes, including Wake Forest University, University of North Georgia, Emerson College and Cleveland State University.
Using 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.
iGrad was recently recognized by the Institute for Financial Literacy with the 2023 Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Adults’ Education Organization of the Year Award. iGrad also received the 2022 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 - Consumer Finance. “Financial Well-being: The Goal of Financial Education.” Jan. 1, 2015
2 - National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “Current Term Enrollment Estimates.” May 24, 2023
3 - Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse. “Survey: Students Need Help with Financial Literacy.” Feb. 24, 2022
