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The Results Are In: Financial Literacy Education Has Positive Impact

Posted by: Ann Durandetta @ Access Group

A gap in research literature on the impact of financial literacy education was identified by Kimberly A. Brown, director of fnance, Midwestern University. Kim identified that while schools with financial literacy programs were conducting some research on the effectiveness of their programs, such as pre and post-program tests on financial literacy, satisfaction surveys, and even measuring intent to change financial behaviors after attending a program, there really weren’t any studies showing how financial literacy programs actually impacted students’ financial decision-making. To complete this research, Kim fused a combination of research methods, including surveys and focus groups, and applied them across three different doctoral level health professions programs. This research suggested that participation in financial literacy programs did positively influence financial decision-making in areas such as credit card use, credit reports, and borrowing levels.

 

Kim then discussed the financial literacy programs at the institutions who participated in her research program. In addition to some of the more common financial literacy topics, she learned of additional programs offered by these schools, including cooking basics, defensive driving, sewing, and other every day ways for students to reduce their expenses during school and beyond. Most of the session participants have, or are in the process of implementing a financial literacy program at their institutions. The methods and topics presented, both for the initial financial literacy education, as well the methods for evaluating the impact of these programs, were well received and pertinent to the audience.

 

Her research paper, titled Examining the Influence of Financial Literacy Education on Financial Decision-Making Among Graduate Level Health Professions Students can be accessed by visiting http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb and entering the UMI number of 3372749. Additional resources referenced for promoting financial literacy on campus included www.mint.com and www.annualcreditreport.com.

 

Why I Attend the Access Group Conference, Year after Year

Posted by:  Susan A. Bogart, Director of Financial Aid, Penn State Law

Aristotle said it first.  “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Steve Jobs said it in a way I love.  “My model for business is The Beatles.  They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check.  They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts.  That’s how I see business:  great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”—Interview with 60 Minutes, 2003.

The muppets in this video said it in a way that sings through my soul.

 

The first time I attended an Access Group Conference it was all about only one part:  what I could learn.  I attended sessions voraciously and absorbed everything I could.  Finally…an educational experience that was specifically about the graduate and professional school population!  There were no Pell Grant sessions to tune out and no TEACH Loan Grant sessions to glaze over.  This was all about my students and what they needed.

But I learned quickly that the best benefit of attending the Access Group Conference was the opportunity to meet other people who work in graduate/professional school financial aid.  They knew what I experience in my job.  They shared their experiences and I learned from them.  I shared my experiences and others learned from me.  And it didn’t stop with the conclusion of the conference.  You can’t help but develop a network of colleagues.  And each individual person has an area where they stand out as a true expert.  When I have questions throughout the year, I don’t hesitate to reach out to this network of colleagues friends to get another perspective.   When I have doubts or confusion, I have people to turn to for ideas or advice.

I’m human.  I have weaknesses.  And I have strengths.  And I’m sure I would have succeeded in my job without the network I developed with the help of this conference.  But having the strengths of others placed easily within my reach has consistently helped me to make a positive difference for my students.

The reason I attend the Access Group Conference year after year is simple.  It’s because “When you put them all together (I am sure you will agree) the whole sounds better than the parts, as you can plainly see.”

Follow Along with the 2011 Access Group Conference

Whether you're registered and have already started packing or you'll miss this year's Conference, the All Access blog will keep you up-to-date with conference happenings.  Look for:

• Session recaps
• Reminders and conference details
• Updates and insights

Follow along with Access Group’s staff and conference attendees for posts and comments to help you “Discover Your Foundation”

Check back daily from November 17th through 19th and feel free to join the conversation by sharing and commenting right here at AllAccess. 

Tip: Don't miss a post.  Subscribe to All Access.  Click the "subscribe" tab at the top to have All Access blog posts sent directly to your e-mail inbox.

Top-10 Reasons to Register Now for Access Group's Conference ...

... Sure there are more than 10, but these are our favorites.

10.   The Access Group conference focuses exclusively on the needs of graduate and professional higher education administrators like you!
 
9.   The newly-added "Industry Update" will help you stay current on the changes and issues affecting our industry.
 
8.   The "Town Hall Meeting" will give you the opportunity to ask questions about Access Group and get the answers straight from our CEO. 
 
7.   Raising money for a great charity while attempting to stay dry during The Great Water Balloon 'Toss-for-the-Cause' will be fun, fun, fun.

 
6.   Location. Location. Location.
 
5.   The chance to network with your colleagues from across the country is invaluable and you look forward to it year after year.
 
4.   You don't want to miss out on the chance to start your professional development experience early with great Pre-Conference sessions, Financial Aid 101, A Closer Look at Need Analysis and Direct Loan Servicing: A Year Later. 
 
3.   You want to make sure you have something wonderful to write about for next year's Conference Blogging Contest.

 
2.   The Association for Financial Counseling, Planning and Education will help you develop your counseling skills, so that you are ready for anything students can throw your way.
 
1.   You'll return to campus having "discovered your foundation" – Full of knowledge and great ideas, feeling energized and ready to take on new challenges.

Learn more and register for the conference.

2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference

Mark Your Calendars ...

 ... for the only conference focused exclusively on graduate and professional aid.

If you are a professional in higher education - whether your role is in finacial aid, admissions or student services - the 2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference has the resources, insights and solutions you need to help your students achieve success.

• Hear nationally acclaimed speakers
• Learn from experienced industry leaders
• Network with peers who share your passion and understand your challenges

Program details and registration information will be available soon, so look for conference updates here on All Access, on the conference webpage and on Twitter.

Save the Date! 

November 17 - 19, 2011 - Sandpearl Resort Clearwater Beach, Florida.

 

Session Summary: Will Student Loan Debt Be The Next Bubble?

Mark Kantrowitz, founder and publisher of FinAid.org presented this very informative and interesting look at the rising cost of education and the effect it may have on our students and the economy.

With the rapid increase of student loan debt at all levels, some are predicting that just might be the next “bubble” to burst.  While this might not be the case, (we’ll have to wait and see, as bubbles are really only visible after they burst) trends show extreme issues with college affordability and excessive student debt.  Debt-to-income ratios for college graduates will continue to increase and more and more students will graduate with excessive debt. 

Keeping in mind …

• Student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt.
• Grants and scholarships have not kept pace with the increase in the costs related to obtaining a degree - mainly tuition.
• College is less affordable for low-income students and will lead to even more debt.
• Income based repayment (IBR) may prevent an increase in default rates, but it may also cause students to maximize their borrowing when they should be borrowing the smallest amount possible.
• Today’s students graduating with too much debt may still be repaying their loans when their children enroll in college. (That’s a scary thought.)
• Because of their tremendous debt, these students may have to forgo home ownership, paying for their children’s educations or saving for retirement.

… What can we do to help them? 

For starters, we, as Financial Aid Administrators, can require that new students take (and pass) a financial literacy mini-course during orientation their first year.  During this class, we should drive home some key lessons about minimizing your debt.  Doing so now will pay off in spades after graduation by allowing them to live a life not paralyzed by their debt.  They should also be aware of the harsh consequences of loan default and the realities of a poor credit rating.

Hopefully we all received some good advice in administering a campus-based financial literacy program during yesterday’s Financial Literacy Forum.

Posted by:  Kim Siwarski

Financial Literacy Forum: Getting Students Engaged in the Program

I have to tell you, when I was asked to write the blog post for this topic I was concerned … concerned that I wouldn’t capture all of the challenges Dino and his staff at Dartmouth College Medical School must have overcome to not only develop and implement a successful financial literacy program, but to keep it alive and thriving for years.  I was sure Dino would be describing a daunting process that included a lengthy strategic planning period, tactical plans, approvals and red-tape.  How would I ever summarize ALL of that detail into a tight, succinct post?

Thankfully, (for you and for me) Dino made his program for keeping students engaged in “all things financial” sound simple.   Clearly he and his staff have put a lot of time and effort into their program and it shows based on their success.   And while Dino admits enthusiasm for these types of programs on  university campuses may vary  – administration and students alike – here’s what worked at Dartmouth College Medical School: 

• First and foremost, insist that every student program and event that is financial in nature goes through the Financial Aid Office.  This ensures the messages and advice your students receive are consistent with the Financial Literacy program you’ve designed.
• Give incoming students a  Financial Binder (or “bible”, as they call it at Dartmouth) including a checklist of everything that should be kept in the binder, such as their personal billing statements, their budget and all of their financial aid documentation.   
• Reward students for using their “bible” properly.   Dartmouth periodically asks students to bring their bible to the Financial Aid Office for a checkup.   Anyone who is using it properly is eligible to win a $15 iTunes or gas card (according to Dino, iTunes cards are the “new pizza” at Dartmouth).
• Work with the Student Government to elect a Financial Aid Committee of students.   At Dartmouth, elected students (two from each class) become the ambassadors of the program and are responsible for promoting all surveys, events and programs – and they even follow-up with students who don’t participate … peer pressure at its best! 
• Because they’re often off campus, see if your program can be built into the academic curriculum of 3^rd and 4^th year students in order to keep them engaged in their financial wellness.

Other fun and engaging elements of Dartmouth’s Financial Literacy Program:

Shopping Spree – this  is a program where Dino gives members of the Financial Aid Committee an identical list of items to shop for at various stores.   Each member is to compare the prices of the items from each store and then sends out an e-mail to students about the most economical places to shop.

Best Of’s  - this is a program where members of the Financial Aid Committee inform the student body of the best deals on just about anything, from pizza to where to get their car serviced.   Dino created the categories and the research is done by the committee members. 

Investment Club:  Dino and his Committee started an Investment Club, called “Fatty Deposits” (those medical students are so clever).   Their most popular program so far, members of the club learn how to pick stocks, understand dividends, and other investment principles.  Their stock purchase of NetFlix has more than doubled in value – not too shabby!

Dino is also an avid blogger on all things financial.  His blog is full of financial resources and information for his readership. 

Find his blog here:   dinodms.wordpress.com

To learn more about engaging your students through the use of technology like blogs, podcast and social media be sure to attend Technology and You:  Communicating with Your Students, Saturday at 2:15 p.m. 

This session is co-presented by Dino Koff and our very own Christina Martin, Director of Interactive Marketing at Access Group.

Posted by: Becky Marrone

Financial Literacy Forum: How to Engage Your Administration

I found this session to be very informative and the audience was very engaged.  Both Rick Matasar and Teddie Milner spoke to the reality all schools are facing with the large amount of debt that students are carrying at graduation.  They believe that the institution has a responsibility to educate their students so that they can make smart decisions, but it is essential that you have the buy-in of key staff throughout your institution to implement a successful financial literacy program. 

Some noteworthy points are:

• Identify champions on your campus to help promote the need for financial literacy.
• Counsel the key staff members, i.e., deans, faculty and admissions officers, to make them aware of the big picture.  Share with them the increase in fees and overall costs your students are incurring and just how much debt graduates are carrying.
• Show them the impacts this has on recruitment, knowing that they want to enroll the best and the brightest.
• Educate them on how to conduct the program and make it deliverable by multiple people on campus.  Consult peers and experts to build your training and invite staff from other offices on your campus to maximize the range of awareness and momentum to grow your program.
• New York Law School’s program is delivered in a 3 day format that earns the student academic credit by participating in a 14-20 hour curriculum.
• UCLA offers their classes during lunch time throughout the semester.

Teddie and Rick’s perspective and approaches to implementing financial literacy programs were insightful and I wish our guests much success in implementing their own program.

Question from the Audience …
Rick, how do you see the timing of the Financial Advocacy courses?  i.e., what point in the law school career?  How often (how many weekends per semester) do you offer the courses?

Answer from Rick Matasar …
We have made the course available to all students – first year full-time through fourth year part-time.  We have found that all benefit from the course with greater gains for younger, less experienced students.  However, first-years have too many other responsibilities so in recent years we have seen the course primarily available to upper level students.  As with any other course, the faculty set the timing, eligibility and grading.

Posted by Amy Manfredi

A Summary of Farnoosh Torabi's The Importance of Financial Literacy Education - by Eileen Santos

To kick off our Financial Literacy Forum, Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance journalist, author and TV personality, shared her experience and expertise about educating young adults about their personal finances. Her key message was about empowering your students to take control of their financial livelihood.  It is no surprise that financial topics always harbor deep emotional ties for all of us, which is why Farnoosh feels it is very important to address that emotional link first, before you begin educating your students on what she calls the “technicalities” of personal finances.

Farnoosh proposes that you act as coaches and mentors to your students and educate them before they graduate, that achieving financial greatness is really up to them and that they have the authority to make tough financial decisions in their life.  The key she says is to help them self discover what temporary changes they may need to make to their lifestyle in order to provide a more secure financial future and unless students feel capable and encouraged to take charge of their own lives, they will not be able to take the necessary actions to secure that future.

She recommends four key steps in moving students through that self-discovery phase and into creating an actionable plan or roadmap to secure their financial future.  These include:

1. Addressing the emotions first.  This means that it is important to engage your students at an emotional level about the things they are concerned about and the goals or plans they would like to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years. Sometimes these concerns or stresses are related to other parts of their lives, such as financial constraints of their parents, which may in turn elevate their own financial constraints. She recommends you have them articulate those concerns, as well as discuss what future plans and goals they are excited about, and  then guide them with questions that will help them discover and become self aware of how to tackle some of these issues and create steps to achieve their desired financial future.

2. Knowing where their interests lie.  This is all about understanding your audience.  You need to know where they are surfing the web, which publications they are reading, where are they getting their leadership from, to name a few.  In order to engage them properly, you need to be able to speak their language and be able to use relevant examples. Farnoosh noted that the conversation should not begin at an indirect level, so that if budgeting is the topic start by talking about their dining out habits.  Help them self discover if those habits need to change in the short-term to address some of the financial concerns.  The gateway to the conversation has to begin with a topic other than money and has to relate to areas they spend time with and know like Facebook, the reality TV shows they watch. Bottom-line is you need to make it relevant to their world.

3. Empowering them to feel in control. Help your students see the financial ramifications of their choices and actions, but do it in a way that helps them self-discover on their own what these are.  They need to prepare for the realities of their financial picture once they graduate.  One way Farnoosh recommends you can do this is through peer to peer driven advice.  Bring back former students to talk to your students and share how they were able to do this.  But also, she recommends engaging your students to talk about their future goals and visualizing themselves achieving those goals.  It is a very successful technique she said many athletes use because, “when you can see it, you will believe it.”

4. Providing the incentives to make the right choices.  Lastly, Farnoosh advocates providing a means to encourage students to seek the information they need to make good financial choices.  This includes things like running contests sponsored by those who can provide a forum for this type of information; bringing speakers on campus that can present financial literacy related information in a way that is relevant to your students; giving your students extra credit points for seeking out this information (e.g., calling their lender to find out what their repayment schedule and payments will be once they graduate) and sharing that information in class with others; and little things like providing snacks or food (e.g., pizza) at presentations to encourage their participation.

I leave you with a quote that has served me well, “feel the fear, but do it anyway.”  Sometimes fear is the only thing that stands between us and our happiness.  It is human to be afraid to be faced with so many choices and difficult life decisions, but you cannot let the fear hold you back.  Many of your students may be allowing this fear of so many unknowns to paralyze their taking the appropriate actions to secure a better life in the future.  And as Farnoosh said in her talk, “life is not about compromises, it is about choices,” so your students have a choice.  They can let the fear paralyze them or they can decide to embrace it and seek the help and education they need to feel engaged, empowered and able to take charge of their financial future, which with your help we know they can!

Posted by: Eileen Santos

Before You Budget, Track Your Spending - By Joe Donahue

In the spirit of today's Financial Literacy Forum, I thought I'd share some of my experience helping students develop budgets.

Before creating a budget or “spending plan,” I encourage students to simply track how much money they are spending and what the money is being spent on. 

Tracking spending is the basic foundation of financial awareness and everyone should keep a record of what they spend because it is a part of the process of better understanding one’s particular spending habits.  The easiest way is to simply write down how much is spent each day on a monthly calendar.  Doing this for a few months generally leads to better purchasing decisions and more money saved at the end of the month because thinking about it becomes a daily routine. 

It doesn’t matter how it is done: utilize any number of app’s on a smart phone, create a spreadsheet (my favorite), or even use a web-based app.  As long as it get’s done.  Tracking every penny spent and reviewing it at least once a week builds a great habit and leads people to start wanting more detailed information about what the money is being spent on. 

This leads to wanting a more robust tracking system and generally the recognition that a full-fledged budget may be in order.  Asking someone that has never paid any attention to what they spend money on to create a budget is too overwhelming for most.  Starting small and building from there seems to be a little easier. 

The goal is to get people interested in their own personal finances on a daily basis and tracking spending is a simple way to reach that goal. 

Posted by: Joe Donahue

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