Washington, D.C., September 3, 2004
—Over the last decade, private universities have shown a growing interest in establishing student loan schemes with the objective of making tertiary studies more accessible and affordable, especially to students from less advantaged backgrounds. The World Bank has reported evidence that availability of student financing can also improve attendance, lower dropout rates, and raise educational outcomes.
In January 2004, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) hosted a major
international forum on investment in private higher education
. Forum members recommended that IFC should facilitate on-going discussion on the topic and foster further networking so that new ideas for creating and implementing institution-based schemes could be shared among all members.
IFC Education Forum Series No. 1
:
The first broadcast – IFC Education Forum Series No. 1 on student loan schemes for private tertiary institutions – will be produced for IFC by
LearningTimes
. Paul Stacey, who chaired the debate on globalization in the January 2004 forum, will also chair the new Education Forum Series broadcasts. Each production will follow the same format that was used for the live debate on globalization in the January 2004 forum.
The broadcast is scheduled for Wednesday, September 8, at 9.30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The student loan presentations will focus on selected concepts that tertiary institutions might consider, along with some important characteristics that can make smaller institution-based schemes successful. This broadcast will be of particular interest to financial comptrollers and accountants, and those with asset management responsibilities.
The Presenters
:
Catherine B. Reynolds,
Chairman, President and CEO of EduCap Inc;
and Paula Darling
, Chief Operating Officer, EduCap Inc
: Catherine Reynolds spoke at the IFC Forum in January. Her firm, EduCap Inc., provides a variety of specialized education loan programs tailored to the needs of students and their families. The credit-based loan programs are a successful model that other providers have tried to replicate in the United States. Ms. Reynolds will focus on critical success factors that will help guide forum members to design their own schemes with local banks or investors.
Jean-Daniel Borgeaud,
Education Development and Investment Company of Switzerland (EDICS)
: Jean-Daniel Borgeaud recently carried out studies of private student loan schemes in different countries. At the January forum he shared some key observations and findings from his studies in Latin American countries. The next presentation will also cover new approaches for establishing student financing schemes along with some characteristics that can lead to a success.
Michael Mann,
President of RMIT International University, Vietnam
: In his presentation, Michael Mann will outline a new student financing initiative that RMIT launched in 2003 and the significant support it has received from the local Vietnamese community.
Forum Series Participation
:
The on-line participation will be limited to forum member institutions only. This means that members will have exclusive rights to participate in the on-line Q&A session after the speakers have presented. Other interested universities and agencies will be able to access the delayed broadcast, which will be made available on both the IFC and the Learning Times websites after the first broadcast.
Forum members will be able to access the broadcast “live” and can participate from a number of locations. All participants will need to pre-register each on-line computer. Interested participants in member institutions are likely to include professors, administrators, and possibly students who may also wish to participate on-line in the final live Q&A session. On-line participation in the broadcast will be limited to 100 participants only.
Please e-mail Suzanne Roddis, Manager, EdInvest at (
sroddis@ifc.org
) for further information and logon instructions.
IFC is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and has become increasingly involved in the education sector. IFC supports the startup or expansion of initiatives in postsecondary, primary, and secondary schooling with a particular interest in school networks, e-learning initiatives, student financing programs, and other ancillary services.
The mission of IFC (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY03, IFC has committed more than $37 billion of its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY03 was $16.8 billion for its own account and $6.6 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
Case studies and reviews of student loan and financing programs have been supported by trust funds from IFC and other donors; eg., Australia (Vietnam: Student Loan Program Diagnostic Review - RMIT University); Switzerland (Latin America Region: Case Studies of Student Financing Programs); and the IFC Technical Assistance Fund (India: Legal Documentation for a Student Loan Program). IFC's technical assistance work on student loan schemes is a reflection of its broader-scale strategic effort to make financial services more available to smaller borrowers by strengthening the ability of financial institutions on risk analysis, portfolio management, etc.
