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Peer to Peer – Hero

31 Dec

Posted at 02:30h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) hosted a free webinar, “Student Loan Benefits and Your Organization’s Retirement Program” Nov. 21. Different retirement plan programs and reasons why employers should offer student loan repayment as an employee benefit were discussed.  Pharmaceutical and health care products company Abbott Laboratories was featured as a case study for its innovative program designed to encourage employees to pay down their student debt by helping them save for retirement at the same time. For employers interested in benefits programs, the Veterinary Debt Initiative recently published an...

31 Dec

Posted at 02:27h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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Darby Affeldt, DVM, RICP, is a financial advisor to veterinarians at North Star Resource Group in Seattle. In a recent dvm360.com article, “Why are so many veterinary grads financially illiterate,” Affeldt explored reasons why financial literacy is so variable among veterinary graduates. She said, “I ask students to rate their own financial literacy on a scale of 1 to 10—1 is Snoopy and 10 is Warren Buffett. The average is 3. It turns out that where they go to school makes a big difference.” Affeldt also examined loan forgiveness (she...

31 Dec

Posted at 02:25h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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Check out how the Veterinary Debt Initiative is leading efforts in the student debt crisis at these upcoming VDI-sponsored speaker events: 2020 AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference, Chicago, IL Friday 1/10/20 at 3 pm: Beyond Dollars and Cents: Leadership in Student Debt Strategies 2020 AAVMC Annual Conference, Washington D.C. 3/6-3/8: Time and location TBD ...

18 Dec

Posted at 02:03h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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The AVMA Economic Summit held Oct. 22-23 in Schaumburg, showcased the current research and insights regarding issues impacting the economic sustainability of the veterinary profession.  The AVMA veterinary economics team, professionals from various allied groups, educational leaders and industry executives covered a wide range of topics including educational debt and behavioral economics. “The analysis presented at the summit integrates with the overall research and metrics strategy of the Veterinary Debt Initiative,” said Dr. David Granstrom, Assistant Executive Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a Veterinary Debt Initiative...

18 Dec

Posted at 02:02h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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Dr. Bridgette Bain, Associate Director of Analytics at the American Veterinary Medical Association, presented “Supply and Demand in the Market for Veterinary Education” at the AVMA Economic Summit held Oct. 22-23 in Schaumburg. Dr. Bain provided a comprehensive picture of the market and concluded with these key takeaways: The market for new veterinarians is robust. Salaries and the number of full-time employees are increasing. Many schools have experienced a year-over-year decrease in debt levels. What can schools with increasing debt levels learn from those with decreasing debt levels? The gender...

18 Dec

Posted at 02:01h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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Several new CE webinars addressing financial issues have been added to the course catalog on AVMA Axon. These webinars are available to all veterinary professionals, and are free for AVMA and Student AVMA (SAVMA) members: Consolidation Counterpoint Explore a wide range of exit strategies, other than selling to a consolidator, that can put an exiting owner on firm financial footing while also providing for ongoing veterinary ownership of the practice. Dr. Link Welborn, president of Veterinary Study Groups, discusses key aspects and staging of the succession process, and examines arithmetic and...

18 Dec

Posted at 02:00h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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The Center on Budget and Policies Priorities recently released a report on how state higher education funding cuts have pushed costs to students and worsened inequality. Specifically, the report finds: “Deep state cuts in funding for higher education over the last decade have contributed to rapid, significant tuition increases and pushed more of the costs of college to students, making it harder for them to enroll and graduate.” Alex Sands, Assistant Director of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Government Relations Division summarized the key points of the report: The benefits of...

18 Dec

Posted at 01:59h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) podcast “Off The Cuff” Episode 122: Diving Into the College Affordability Act explored the ins and outs of the newly released College Affordability Act, the House Democrats' bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act....

18 Dec

Posted at 01:58h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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Paycor.com examined the benefits of employer repayment programs in “Employer Student Loan Repayment Program: 5 Tips for 2020” stating, “Companies that offer student loan debt relief can more easily attract and retain talent. In fact, studies indicate that 86% of workers between the ages of 22 and 33 would commit to an employer for five years if the employer offered a student loan repayment program.” The article provides advice to employees to help repay their student loans and also explains Abbot Laboratories novel repayment approach tied to the company’s 401(k). The...

18 Dec

Posted at 01:56h in Veterinary Debt Initiative
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“Applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness: 5 Tips for Success” was posted on the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education, outlining tips for applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. “The qualifying payments are where most folks get hung up. I've heard many financial aid officers talk about how easy it is for someone to accidentally mess up a qualifying payment. Paying too early in the month before the next billing or even paying more than the minimum due can throw the payments off. Only 1% of folks have...