Sameer Gadkaree, President & CEO of The Institute for College Access and Success:  Creating Paths To Debt-Free College

“We're asking students effectively to take a bet on themselves and what we have seen in recent years is the growing problem of debt that doesn't pay off for them,” says Sameer Gadkaree, President & CEO of The Institute for College Access and Success. Among the 44 million Americans affected, the debt load is $30,000 for the average borrower, including those who did not complete their certificate program or degree. As Gadkaree points out to Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan, risk in the higher education system has gradually been shifted over several decades to students and their families. A big part of the solution, he says, is building debt-free paths to college by stitching together existing local, state and federal programs and supplementing financial support as needed. But the answer also needs to include a variety of tools to help students to completion such as advising, social supports and making sure they are receiving food assistance and other benefits for which they qualify. Gadkaree cites several programs across the country that are doubling graduation rates by taking this approach, and hopes that others working on these daunting challenges will pause to celebrate successes and look at the larger trends. “I think there's a growing awareness of the harms of student debt, the challenges that it creates for our borrowers and that we really need to change if we're going to achieve greater racial equity and economic mobility.”