| home > Marketing
Tools > Alumni Office FAQ
Alumni Office FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Independent 529 Plan and college and university Alumni Offices.
What is Independent 529 Plan?
Independent 529 Plan is a tax-advantaged way for American families to save for future tuition at more than 250 private colleges and universities. A family can buy tuition today that will never go up in price.
The value is locked in, even though the parent does not yet know where the child will attend college. Independent 529 Plan was conceived and designed by college administrators and is governed by a not-for-profit consortium of private colleges and universities, Tuition Plan Consortium. Participation in the consortium is evidence that a college is striving to keep the cost of tuition down.
How does Independent 529 Plan benefit people saving for college?
Independent 529 Plan is a federally-sanctioned 529 prepaid plan, which enables both the accumulation and the distribution of benefits to be free of federal tax. Because colleges offer a slight discount at the time of purchase, consumers are actually buying future tuition at less than today’s price.
In addition, member colleges pay all administrative costs of running the program. The result is a plan that offers freedom from market risk, freedom from tuition-inflation, freedom from fees, and freedom from federal income tax.
Why is Independent 529 Plan important to the Alumni Office?
Member institutions can claim Independent 529 Plan as an alumni benefit, even if alumni children go to other colleges. By participating in the plan, member institutions are helping to provide the framework for parents to save for their children’s future tuition.
How can colleges and universities help alumni save for college?
Implementing a "Savings for College" feature on your alumni website
can be an effective and useful benefit for your alumns. It's never too early (and almost never too late) for parents to begin what many see as a very difficult process. An extra nudge from you might be just what they need to get started.
Of course, we hope you'll highlight Independent 529 Plan in your communications. By doing so, you'll signal how you're striving to keep college affordable for future generations by participating in the plan.
If you want to promote other savings options in addition to Independent 529 Plan, consider spreading the word about Coverdell ESAa (available at local banks and from some brokers), U.S. Savings Bonds (available at banks and U.S. Post Offices), and state-sponsored 529 college-savings plans.
Include in your communications a link to www.collegesavings.org -- it's a great site with useful information for parents and other family members.
How can
colleges and universities promote Independent 529 Plan?
Colleges can list “Saving for College” as an alumni benefit on their website, with a link to the Independent 529 Plan website (http://www.independent529plan.org). Colleges can also use these Independent 529 Plan marketing materials to promote the plan:
Be sure to also check out our Independent 529 Plan Usage Guidelines (PDF, 385KB).
Do alumni offices sell Independent 529 Plan certificates?
No. TIAA-CREF manages the marketing and administration of Independent 529 Plan, including toll-free phone centers to answer alumni questions about the plan.
Are purchasers misled into believing their beneficiaries are guaranteed admission to a particular institution?
No. All consumer materials, including regular quarterly statements, contain the explicit message that ownership of an Independent 529 Plan account has no bearing on student admission. Member colleges have signed a statement to that effect as part of the obligations of participation.
Is there an advantage to my institution in marketing the plan to my alumni?
Yes! Your institution may be able to attract more applicants whose families have saved for tuition, allowing more of the financial aid budget to go to the truly needy. In addition, it responds to an alumni concern. A recent issue of CASE Currents reported that “Making college more affordable” was named as the most pressing priority for higher education in a national survey of college alumni.
Will we have to provide Tuition Plan Consortium with lists of alumni?
The consortium will not ask you for any information that might jeopardize the privacy of your alumni. However, it is our belief that your alumni will want to know about Independent 529 Plan, and, to that end, we work with alumni offices to provide appropriate ways of reaching their constituencies.
What if we want the Independent 529 Plan program office to contact our alumni?
We can do that with your help. We can also provide you with fliers, brochures, articles for your publications, press releases, web site links, etc., that can help make Independent 529 Plan known to your alumni and friends. The Tuition Plan Consortium staff and our associates at TIAA-CREF stand ready to work with you to make the program a success.
|
