There's no doubt this summer has shown how the pandemic continues to create risks and challenges in higher education. Perhaps one of the biggest concerns is the lack of awareness surrounding college refunds and the potential financial losses for students and families.

It was over a decade ago that GradGuard, the nation's first comprehensive insurance and benefits solution specifically designed for the collegiate market, began offering tuition insurance.

As summer comes to a close, GradGuard is proud to announce many of our new school partnerships. 

Network grows to nearly 400 campuses

From mid-June to mid-August, our sales team signed five to 10 schools per week. By the end of the summer, we welcomed more than 40 campuses to our growing network of nearly 400 colleges and universities.

New campus partners include both public and private schools nationwide, such as:

• University of Oregon
• Kent State University
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte 
• University of St. Thomas

Summer surge follows spring slowdown

Just about everything came to a halt when the pandemic first hit in the spring. Campus administrators that had previously expressed interest in providing tuition insurance had to hit the pause button as managing student and staff safety moved to the forefront of concerns. 

As the summer months approached, schools began compiling resources for students and families to give them confidence to return to campus in the fall. Tuition insurance became one of the added benefits to help ease their minds.

Colleges and universities that are partnered with GradGuard offer tuition insurance to students at a low rate of around 1 percent of tuition. For most schools, that's $106 for $10,000 worth of coverage.

This is a voluntary program on campus that can help families who are already making a large investment in college, according to Derrick Shy, GradGuard's Vice President of Campus Development. 

"In the grand scheme of things, this reaffirms it's a low-cost investment compared to the large investment they're making in tuition," Shy said. "And if anything goes wrong, they'll get their money back."

Interest in tuition insurance expected to continue

The reality is, there has been a growing interest in tuition insurance even before the pandemic started. That will no doubt continue even when COVID-19 is controlled because of the types of events tuition insurance covers. Prior to the pandemic, colleges nationwide reported a 70% growth in medical withdrawals. Ordinary medical conditions, including mental health withdrawals also continue to climb, according to the latest data from the American College Health Association. 

As our growing school partner list nears 400 campuses, we're confident the need for tuition insurance will be a constant.