SAN DIEGO--iGrad has partnered with Wake Forest University to provide its customized, interactive financial wellness platform to more than 7,700 students, faculty and staff on the private university’s Reynolda Campus in Winston-Salem, N.C.

“Financial empowerment is a critical skill our students need to succeed. We are pleased to be able to offer iGrad, with its robust suite of financial wellbeing and planning tools, to all students, faculty and staff.” Tom Benza, Director of Student Financial Aid at Wake Forest University

iGrad’s platform at Wake Forest1 includes customized and interactive information on everything from building and maintaining good credit, budgeting and money management to student loan/debt management and loan calculators.

“We know it is incredibly important for Wake Forest students to leave campus fully prepared for the challenges of life after graduation,” said Wake Forest Director of Student Financial Aid Tom Benza. “Financial empowerment is a critical skill our students need to succeed. We are pleased to be able to offer iGrad, with its robust suite of financial wellbeing and planning tools, to all students, faculty and staff.”

Wake Forest’s primary goals of offering iGrad include maintaining the university’s low student loan default rate, decreasing financial stress and building a foundation of solid financial management for a lifetime, he said.

While iGrad is available to all Wake Forest students, Benza said the Office of Student Financial Aid engages in targeted financial wellbeing programming with the university’s First Generation Scholars Program, the Women’s Center, The LGBTQ+ Center and The School of Divinity. 

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.

“College students are facing tremendous financial challenges that impact enrollment, graduation rates and student loan debt and defaults,” said iGrad Vice President of Business Development Todd Woodlee. “Additionally, student financial stress can have serious and life-altering ramifications. We are thrilled to partner with Wake Forest to offer the robust iGrad platform to its nearly 8,000 students, faculty and staff.”

iGrad is currently used by more than 600 public and private colleges and universities of all sizes, including Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, New York University, Central Michigan 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 recently 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 - https://wfu.igrad.com/

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

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