Commitment to Provide Planning and Paying for College Resources to
Hispanic- Serving School Districts
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hispanic Association of
Colleges & Universities (HACU) today announced a $125,000 commitment from
Sallie Mae, the nation's leading saving- and paying-for-college company.
The commitment will fund educational outreach to Hispanic-Serving School
Districts (HSSD) across the country about best practices in advising
students on planning and paying for college. The announcement takes place
today at a partnership luncheon held at the Hispanic Association of
Colleges & Universities (HACU)'s Annual Conference in Chicago.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a )
"We are thrilled Sallie Mae made the commitment to support our newest
initiative with the Hispanic-Serving School Districts," said Antonio
Flores, Ph.D., President and CEO of HACU. "The funds will allow the
opportunity to form a Hispanic-Serving School District Advisory Council.
With the council's leadership and advice, we hope to strengthen our
commitment to the school districts across the country and increase the
number of well-prepared K-12 students entering the Hispanic higher
education pipeline."
As part of the five year commitment, Sallie Mae will provide its
college-planning Web site development tool, as well as printed materials in
both English and Spanish, to all participating HSSD schools. These
resources will be used by the school districts to educate their students
and families about planning and paying for college.
"Sallie Mae is proud to work with HACU to bring these important
educational resources to school districts with large Hispanic populations
all across the country," said Maria Frias, Senior Vice President, Hispanic
Initiatives, Sallie Mae. "Research has shown us that the earlier students
and families receive the critical message that college is possible, the
earlier they can plan for how to pay for higher education, and eventually
realize their education dreams."
Graduating from college pays lifelong dividends: according to the U.S.
Census Bureau, college graduates on average earn over $1 million more
during their lifetimes than high school dropouts. But studies show that for
every 100 Hispanic children entering kindergarten, just 63 will graduate
from high school and only 11 will obtain a bachelor's degree by the age of
29.
About HACU The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
was established in 1986 with a founding membership of eighteen
institutions. Today, HACU represents more than 450 colleges and
universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S.,
Puerto Rico, LatinAmerica, Spain and Portugal. Although their member
institutions in the U. S. represent less than 7% of all higher education
institutions nationwide, together they are home to more than two-thirds of
all Hispanic college students. HACU is the only national educational
association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). HACU is a
non-profit organization committed to assuring higher education access and
success for Hispanic students. For more information, visit http://www.hacu.net.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the
nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The
company manages $160 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10
million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the
company also manages $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and 8
million members have joined Upromise to help save for college with rewards
on purchases at nearly 70,000 places. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer
debt management services as well as business and technical products to a
range of business clients, including higher education
SOURCE The Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities and
Sallie Mae
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Related links:
http://www.salliemae.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030617/SLMLOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/827187.html /
CONTACT:
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia of The Hispanic
Association of Colleges & Universities, +1-210-692-3805,
njgarcia@hacu.net; or Beth Guerard of Sallie Mae,
+1-703-984-5621, beth.guerard@salliemae.com
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