Being a parent is hard. Being a parent of a child who will one day graduate from high school and have to make decisions about what to do next is even more difficult. And they're one and the same.

In the United States, we live in a tragedy of student loan debt. According to Investopedia, Americans hold about $1.75 trillion in student loan debt. And while the government debates on whether to forgive some of that debt or continue to defer it, our youth continue to apply for student loans.

It's time for a real conversation about the support that's available to students, what parents' responsibility should be, and why the school a child attends (if any) is no reflection on the parent. And shouldn't be.

This week on the podcast, Ken Ruggiero, chairman and CEO of Ascent Funding shares what might be some unpopular (but very realistic) thoughts on higher education. He gets real about why students exit college without a degree or with loans they can't pay back. It's an equation, and Ken is sharing his organization's (free) tool to determine whether the school a teen is choosing is a good investment or if they should look elsewhere.

Be sure to tune in!

About Ken Ruggiero:

Ken, Chairman and CEO of Ascent Funding, is a veteran and innovator in higher education finance with more than 25 years spent managing start-up through Fortune 1000 companies, helping them create meaningful change and improvement in their delivery of financial services. Throughout his career Ken has worked tirelessly to improve access to higher education and he continues to be a passionate advocate for expanded financial literacy and transparency in the space.

During his tenure at Goal Financial, from 2003-2007, the company originated more than $8 billion in student loans and became a top 10 student-loan provider. After the company's exit from the lending space in 2008, Ken spearheaded the reinvention of Goal Financial into Goal Solutions, a leading provider of asset management in the education finance industry. Under his leadership, Goal Solutions has significantly grown their service and product offerings, eventually reentering the origination space in 2017 with the creation of Ascent Funding.

Jump in the Conversation:

• [1:40] - The student loan debt tragedy
• [3:50] - What support is out there for students
• [4:47] - Education spending is an investment
• [6:38] - Revolutionizing how students plan, pay for, and succeed in school
• [9:08] - The difference between student loans and home loans
• [12:30] - There's almost too much data available to help you determine your future college
• [16:15] - The system is designed to get you into debt and get you into school
• [17:28] - Maureen's personal scenario as a mom
• [18:40] - Where to start with not relying on a parents' money for law school
• [24:38] - What to pay attention to with young children and kids close to college
• [32:59] - Dual enrollment and changing financial trajectory
• [35:30] - What parents need to do to be more financially savvy about paying for higher [42:18] - Encourage kids to bring you adult problems
• [46:45] - Know your parameters, even if you don't like them
• [49:40] - Combine capital and learning and support for the best results
• [51:00] - Ken's Magic Wand - How Ken would recreate the higher ed funding landscape
• 40% are first time learners
• [58:04] - Maureen's takeaways

Links & Resources

• Ascent Funding
• Bright Futures Tool
• Ascent Connect Success Platform
• Episode 39: Creating Human-Centered Learning
• Edgecombe County Public Schools Graduate Aims
• View the April 2022 EdActive summit presentations
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep