Indiana Wesleyan University has formed
a partnership with Questa Foundation for Education to provide financial
assistance for IWU students in the Questa Scholars Program that also
incentivizes these future leaders to become contributing members of northeast
Indiana’s workforce after they graduate from the university.
Questa Scholars may borrow up to
$20,000 over four years to pay for college. Questa Foundation will forgive up
to 50 percent of a Questa Scholars loan balance if the student graduates with
at least a 2.75 cumulative grade-point average and elects to reside and work in
one of the 11 counties of northeast Indiana for at least five years after
college.
Students who attend Indiana Wesleyan
University and graduate from high school in one of five northeastern Indiana
counties — Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko and Whitley — are eligible to
participate in the Questa Scholars Program.
The Pay Back Partnership agreement
between Indiana Wesleyan University and Questa Foundation commits IWU to repay
an additional 25 percent of a Questa Scholars loan if the student graduates
from the university in four years. Questa Scholars at IWU will now benefit from
having up to 75 percent of a $20,000 college loan forgiven and repaid on their
behalf.
Questa Foundation’s college loan
forgiveness program is the only one of its kind in the nation that ties debt
forgiveness to college attainment and regional talent retention. The debt
forgiveness, based upon residency and employment in northeast Indiana, occurs
on a graduated scale over five years. IWU will pay down the student’s debt by
25 percent immediately after graduation.
“Almost 90 percent of Indiana Wesleyan
University students require financial assistance, so we are pleased when we can
form partnerships with groups like Questa Foundation to assist those students,”
said IWU President Henry Smith.
“We also are proud of the increasing
numbers of IWU students who choose to live and work in northeast Indiana after
they graduate. Our partnership with Questa Foundation provides one more
incentive for students to make that decision,” Smith said.
Christina K. Smith, executive director
of Questa Foundation, said “The
IWU-Questa partnership allows northeast Indiana’s best and brightest from
middle income families to pursue a high-quality IWU education with tremendous
affordability.”
“We are very pleased
that every college and university in northeast Indiana has joined Questa
Foundation in a Pay Back Partnership agreement, providing added incentives for
our region’s future leaders to pursue their educational training right here in
northeast Indiana,” added Smith.
IWU currently has two students who are
Questa Scholars.
For more information
about the Questa Scholars Pay Back Partnership agreement, contact IWU’s Office
of Admissions at 866-468-6498 or Questa Foundation at 260-407-6494.