# The Effectiveness of Purdue's Income Share Agreement Program

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-future-of-education-3943663/the-effectiveness-of-purdue-s-income-share-agreement-program
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-future-of-education-3943663/the-effectiveness-of-purdue-s-income-share-agreement-program.md
Podcast: [The Future of Education](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-future-of-education-3943663)
Published: 2025-10-06T14:27:00+00:00
Episode link: https://michaelbhorn.substack.com/p/the-effectiveness-of-purdues-income
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/174756715/c2d84eadec3bf2e9c36cf378c47d2ea4.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-future-of-education-3943663/episodes/the-effectiveness-of-purdue-s-income-share-agreement-program
Duration seconds: 2729

## Resource

Ethan Pollack from Jobs for the Future and Kevin Mumford, an economics professor at Purdue University, joined me to dive into Purdue’s innovative “Back a Boiler” Income Share Agreement (ISA) program. They defined what ISAs are, talked about how Purdue’s model aimed to make higher education more affordable and accessible, and discussed the findings from new research analyzing the program’s outcomes. Our conversation covered the program’s origins, regulatory challenges, its eventual pause, and what the data reveal about student outcomes, particularly regarding fairness, completion rates, and financial impacts for students from different backgrounds. One of my takeaways? Based on the outcomes, it’s a shame that the initial momentum behind ISAs in the mid-2010s has stalled. But maybe there’s some hope now on the horizon with better guardrails in place for a resurgence behind ISAs. Research Referenced: * Distribution of Returns to a College Income Share Agreement: Evidence from Administrative Data * Promising New Insights from Purdue University’s ISA Program Michael Horn Welcome to the Future of Education. I’m Michael Horn. And you’re joining the show where we’re dedicated to creating a world in which all individuals can build their passions, fulfill their potential and live lives of purpose. And part of that equation is thinking about how we pay for and afford what’s become a more and more costly higher education over time. So to help us learn about and think through some new research about what was a very interesting program to make higher education not just more affordable and accessible, but also focused on real value, in my view, our two individuals that we get to welcome today. First we have Ethan Pollack. He’s the senior director in the policy and advocacy practice a…

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