College & Workforce Readiness

Colleges

May 02, 2001 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Spend and Save: A new company has launched a college-savings plan that promises to help families save money for their children’s future education when they buy new cars, enjoy dinner and a night out on the town, or make other purchases.

Upromise Inc., based in Brookline, Mass., announced the program at an April 24 news conference in New York City. Officials also provided a rundown of the companies that have agreed to participate in the endeavor, including big-name corporations such as AT&T, Borders Inc., Century 21 Real Estate Corp., Citibank, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and drug store chain CVS Corp.

The plan allows individuals to start a family-savings network that can include parents and two other family members. A percentage of dollars spent with Upromise partner companies will go into college-savings accounts.

For example, AT&T will contribute 4 percent of customers’ residential charges to their Upromise accounts. Seventy online retailers have agreed to kick in up to 12 percent of purchases made through Upromise. And Toys “R” Us Inc. will contribute 2 percent of purchases to the account. The participating companies also pay Upromise an undisclosed sum to join the program.

Parents also can have their money put into a guaranteed college-savings plan managed by Salomon Smith Barney or Fidelity Investments. According to a study commissioned by Upromise last fall, tuition at the average four-year college will more than double over the next two decades—to $15,879 from $7,472 in today’s dollars—if present economic trends continue.

Upromise, whose staff includes former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley as an adviser and a board director, says that a family making $60,000 per year would be likely to save at least $20,000 over 15 years in the program.

Upromise CEO Michael Bronner, who dropped out of Boston College because he couldn’t afford the tuition, said he hopes to encourage families to start saving for college as early as possible.

“We’re trying to overcome this epidemic where people aren’t saving,” Mr. Bronner said, adding he wants “to create a movement where people start saving for college.”

Participating companies will be featuring Upromise in millions of mailers, bill inserts, and circulars, and in store displays at 45,000 locations nationwide.

A recent study by Washington-based Hart Research Associates found that 82 percent of parents believe that college is moving out of financial reach, and half of the surveyed parents with college-bound students had saved $1,000 or less for college.

—John Gehring

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 02, 2001 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Disrupting PD Day in Schools with Continuous Professional Learning Experiences
Hear how this NC School District achieved district-wide change by shifting from traditional PD days to year-long professional learning cycles
Content provided by BetterLesson
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

College & Workforce Readiness Want to Motivate Students? Give Them a Meaningful Taste of the Working World
Work-based learning experiences can help students understand why the classes they are taking are relevant to their future success.
7 min read
A nurse supervises a young student standing at the foot of a hospital bed chatting about the medical chart that she is holding.
E+/Getty + Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness A Lesson in Eggonomics: The Story of Soaring Prices and Industrious High Schoolers
California agriculture students are undercutting grocery store egg prices—and learning big lessons in the process.
4 min read
Cardboard egg cartons sit stacked on the shelf of a grocery store cooler case.
Eggs are displayed on store shelves at a grocery store. Egg prices surged in late 2022, giving agriculture students hands-on lessons in supply chain issues.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Photo Essay PHOTOS: Cars, Canines, and Cosmetology—All in a Day's Work
EdWeek photographer Morgan Lieberman reflects on her day with Dean McGee, a 2023 Leaders To Learn From honoree.
2 min read
Students Fernando Castro and Eric Geye’s, part of the Auto Technology class, show Dean McGee the vehicle they are working on at the Regional Occupational Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif.
Dean McGee takes a look under a vehicle alongside students from the auto technology class at the Regional Occupational Center, in Bakersfield, Calif.
Morgan Lieberman for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Leader To Learn From Building Skills for Independent Lives: A Leader's Vision for Students With Disabilities
Dean McGee of Kern High School District in California draws on his personal experience to improve and expand career-technical education.
7 min read
Dean McGee pets Sydney while visiting the Veterinary Technology program at the Regional Occupation Center on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Bakersfield, Calif.
Dean McGee, deputy superintendent of educational services and innovative programs in the Kern High School District, pets Sydney while visiting the veterinary technology program at the Regional Occupation Center in Bakersfield, Calif.
Morgan Lieberman for Education Week