Southern Vermont College's Commitment to the 2020 Initiative: Helping Make Higher Education Possible

The Department of Education is introducing President Obama's 2020 goals to students and faculty throughout America's schools, colleges and universities. SVC President Karen Gross and Dr. Martha Kanter have been working together on strategies to promote this initiative including financial literacy education. President Gross hopes that SVC's launch will serve as a model for other higher education institutions. "I want our College community to be a part of this national initiative,” she said. “Our collective future depends on more and more Americans completing their undergraduate education, and what could be more important than insuring the next generation is in good hands?"

Some of the 2020 strategies being implemented on the SVC campus this fall are:

Campus Illustrated: Each new student at Orientation will have their photograph taken and placed on a mock magazine cover referencing the 2020 Initiative; this momento is given to remind students of their participation in the national initiative.
Each new SVC student will receive recognition of their participation in the 2020 Initiative by Arne Duncan, Secretary of U.S. Department of Education.
Mountain Money: Every student at the school will receive an automatic $20.20 credit on their Mountain Money card (used to make purchases at the Campus Café) at the start of each new semester following a successfully completed prior semester.

“That is why, at the start of my administration I set a goal for America: by 2020, this nation will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world….” - President Barack Obama