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Students at a Paying for College Bus Tour stop, Reading, PA

The Sallie Mae Fund announces $1 million campaign to increase access to college for Texas students

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 2, 2006—In order to help many more students open new doors to college, The Sallie Mae Fund today announced a $1 million campaign to raise awareness about college financial aid options among Texas minority and lower income communities.

Dr. Raymund Paredes, Texas commissioner of higher education, and members of the Texas higher education community joined representatives from The Sallie Mae Fund to deliver the news this morning. Through the "Million Dollars for Access" campaign, The Sallie Mae Fund will partner with the state and higher education institutions throughout Texas to help close the access gap that keeps many aspiring students from realizing their college dreams. Financial support will be disbursed over a three year period.

"Poor awareness of the college financial aid process prevents many lower income and minority students from pursuing college opportunities," said Kathleen deLaski, president of The Sallie Mae Fund. "We are delighted to partner with the State of Texas and the higher education community in a targeted campaign to give these students the resources and confidence to pursue and pay for college."

If minorities had the same educational attainment and earnings as Caucasians, total personal income in Texas would be nearly $31.4 billion higher, and the state would realize an estimated $11 billion in additional tax revenues, according to a report published by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. In addition, studies commissioned by The Sallie Mae Fund have shown a strong correlation between the decision to attend college and the level of financial aid awareness.

This unprecedented charitable commitment from The Sallie Mae Fund will help to further support the goals of "Closing the Gaps by 2015," the state's higher education plan. The plan establishes four goals: to close the gaps in student participation, student success, excellence, and research—both within Texas and in comparison to other states. The participation goal calls for enrolling 1.6 million students in Texas higher education by 2015. Achieving that goal will require significant and successful outreach efforts to ensure that students have the information they need to prepare for and pursue college.

The announcement was made during one of The Sallie Mae Fund's 10 "Paying for College" Bus Tour workshops in Texas. Part of a 78-city, nationwide campaign to help increase access to higher education for Latinos, the bus tour will visit Dallas and Denton within the next few weeks. Each stop involves a bilingual, "Paying for College" workshop to help students better prepare and pay for college. Students can also come on board The Sallie Mae Fund's high-tech bus to search for scholarships or begin the application process for federal financial aid at one of four Web-enabled computers. Following the announcement and workshop at Lyndon B. Johnson High School this morning, Dr. Paredes awarded a $500 college scholarship from The Sallie Mae Fund to one of the students.

The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, achieves its mission—to increase access to a post–secondary education for America's students—by supporting programs and initiatives that help open doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and bridge the gap when no one else can. For more information visit www.salliemaefund.org.