ISA provider 13th Avenue, which is currently talking to several institutions about setting up ISA pilot programs, has found that funding is a key challenge. “The schools are interested, but they are reluctant to fund the program so we are busy trying to raise money,” says Casey Jennings, chief operating officer.
ISA provider Vemo Education and the Jain Family Institute, a nonprofit think tank that supports the development of ISAs, are also in the exploratory phase with a handful of higher ed institutions interested in making the investment to launch their own ISAs.
A few announcements about new programs are expected in the future.
Washington College in Maryland, for example, has announced it is considering an ISA program funded by donors. Students would use the fund to pay for classes and, after graduation, payments from those students would replenish the fund.
