NEW YORK - Parents have a new way to save for their children's college educations at more than 200 private colleges and universities.
Wednesday, a consortium of private schools launched the Independent 529 Plan, which will let families lock in tuition and mandatory fees at participating institutions. In Florida, Jacksonville University, Rollins College, Saint Leo University and the University of Miami have joined the program.
"This is a major step forward in fundamental help for Americans to save for college," said Tim Lane, vice president of TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing. TIAA-CREF will manage the program.
The new plan - available at www.independent529plan.org - is similar in some ways to the popular Florida Prepaid College Plan. Families will be able to use it to purchase tuition certificates at a discount, locking in a percentage of future tuition costs. The percentage will vary from college to college, depending on current tuition prices.
Participating institutions range from Birmingham-Southern in Alabama to Pomona in California, Wesleyan in Georgia, the University of Chicago in Illinois, Tulane in Louisiana, Wellesley in Massachusetts, Oberlin in Ohio, Princeton in New Jersey, Ithaca in New York and Lawrence in Wisconsin. More colleges are expected to join.
Admission to the private schools is not guaranteed.
