Round Rock, TX — TG, a nonprofit with nearly 40 years’ experience supporting college access and completion, announced the addition of Bryan Ashton as Director for Student and Institutional Success, who will lead TG’s highly qualified team of financial education consultants.
Ashton’s experience and leadership come at an opportune time. With student debt levels nationwide now exceeding $1.3 trillion, higher education institutions, policymakers, students, and families are acutely aware of the need for high-quality, timely information, and strategies to mitigate excessive debt and successfully manage student loan repayment.
Ashton will focus on accelerating and scaling TG’s efforts to equip higher education institutions with data to better understand student borrowing on their campuses. Equally important will be the refinement and promotion of strategies that affect students directly, including enhanced advising and a variety of financial support tools. These efforts are currently being piloted with nine colleges across Texas, with plans to expand to more campuses in the next three years.
“Education beyond high school — whether it’s earning a certificate program or an associate’s or bachelor’s degree — is critical to personal and community growth and well-being,” said James Patterson, TG’s President and CEO. “It is imperative that we maximize a vibrant future for students by educating them about their financial goals alongside their academic and career goals. Bryan’s wealth of experience working directly with students, faculty, staff, and administrators sets the stage for TG to address these needs and to expand this important work.”
Ashton joins TG from The Ohio State University, where he led the university’s financial wellness efforts including the Scarlet and Gray Financial Program, which was publicly recognized as a model program by the U.S. Secretary of Education. He serves as the co-founder and co-chair of the National Summit on Collegiate Financial Wellness, which attracts hundreds of practitioners from around the country each year. In addition, Ashton served as the lead practitioner and co-investigator on the Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness, a national student financial wellness study that was conducted on over 50 campuses around the country.
“TG is uniquely positioned to positively affect students’ lives and assist them in understanding their financial decisions throughout the student lifecycle,” said Ashton. “That resonates with me and reflects my commitment to helping institutions and students navigate these complex challenges. We are increasingly seeing the intersection of student’s financial lives and their success as they pursue higher education. I believe that this is a critical area of focus for institutions, and the opportunities for TG to make a difference are immediate and powerful.”
-30-
TG is a nonprofit corporation that promotes educational success to help millions of students and families realize their college and career dreams. TG provides critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process — from providing information on how to pay for a higher education including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation.