WINDOW PAYMENT. Window Payment is the maximum length of time over which the student can make payments. If the ISA payments pause because the income threshold is breached, the student will have to make those payments once they are earning above the threshold. At the end of the payment window the obligation is over, provided the individual's account is in good standing, regardless of how many payments they have made. SOCIAL FACTORS IN SEARCH OF EQUITY - WILL ISA MAKE EDUCATION MORE ACCESSIBLE? THE SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES While some progress has been made, closing access, achievement, and attainment gaps between students from low and high-income families and between students of color and white students remains a significant challenge for the nation. According to recent national data, only 22% of African-Americans and 16% of Latinos over age 25 years have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 36% of Whites and 54% of Asians in the same age group (Xxxx & Xxxxxx, 2016). Equity Indicator 5a (i): Estimated bachelor’s degree attainment rate by age 24 for dependent family members by family income quartile: 1970 to 2018 Indicator Status: High Persisting Inequality: Estimated Bachelor's Degree attainment rates by age 24 were 3.9 times higher for dependent family members in the highest income quartile than for those in the lowest income quartile. In 1970, dependent family members in the highest income quartile were 6.7 times as likely as those in the lowest quartile to have a bachelor's degree by age 24. Only about 15.5% of young adults from families in the bottom income quartile earn a college degree by age 24 years, compared with about 62% of young adults in the highest income quartile (Pell Institute, & University of Pennsylvania’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, 2018). Clearly, there remains much work to be done to close gaps in college access and degree attainment by race and socioeconomic status. A college degree is an essential economic mobility pathway for millions of Americans to escape poverty and ascend into the middle class. Fourth(highest) Quartile Third Quartile Second Quartile First (lowest) Quartile Without a college certificate or degree, children in families in the bottom income quartile have a 45% chance of remaining there as adults. With a college degree, they have less than a 20% chance of staying in the bottom income quintile (Xxxxxxx, Holzer, & Xxxxxx, 2009). Addressing this challenge is even more critical given that low-income ...
