Student loan provider Sallie Mae has teamed up with education planning site ConnectEDU to provide college financial planning tools for high school students and their families.

The companies are collaborating to develop financial planning products and services to help students to create a free step-by-step college and career path, and to encourage them to save for college.

ConnectEDU's Web-based service provides academic planning, college selection and career planning to more than 5 million high school and college-aged students through a network of more than 100,000 high schools, colleges and employers. ConnectEDU's products help students assess and match their interests and strengths with potential schools and careers, as well as evaluate their prospective investment.

Students can search for scholarships, grants and financial aid opportunities and complete financial aid applications. Now through this partnership, ConnectEDU will feature Sallie Mae's Upromise rewards service to encourage students and their families to save for college.

“With Sallie Mae tools, like the Upromise college savings program, we are even better positioned to provide comprehensive, student-centric planning resources in a single destination, leading to informed student decisions and smart financial planning,” said ConnectEDU CEO Craig Powell in a statement.