A Financial Literacy Program $uccessful Start

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A Financial Literacy Programuccessful Start

• EASFAA
• 43rd Annual Conference
• Washington, DC
• May 17th 20th, 2009
• John Brown
• Boston College

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Session Topics

• Reasons for Financial Literacy Assistance
• Program Start Up
• Financial Topics
• Campus Involvement
• Focus Groups
• Communication
• Program Evaluation
• Logistics

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Session Resources

• Library
• Trio Program
• Similar programs at Colleges/Universities
• Resourceful Web Sites
• Boston College Web Site

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I subscribe to the following
theory

• Dont reinvent the wheel,
• when you can steal the whole car!

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Johns Top Ten Reasons toOffer Financial
Literacy Workshops
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• 10) Low credit scores result in higher
  interest rates on future mortgages, loans or
  credit cards and possible loan denial.
• 9) Student debt in the U.S. is now over 500
  billion.
• 8) College students are not prepared to
  manage their personal finances.
• 7) Parents are not providing the financial
  experiences students need.
• 6) Student Loan Default rate has gone from
  5.2 percent to 6.9 percent according to DOE.

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• 5) Higher education is slow in responding to
  students need for financial education.
• 4) Rates of financial stress are significantly
  higher for minority and first generation college
  students.
• 3) There is an uneven delivery and availability
  of personal finance services.
• 2) The average student loan debt surpasses
  20,000 and over 88,000 for Law Students.
• 1) Over 33 of college students graduate with
  10,000 or more in credit card debt over and
  above student loans.

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Current Student Issues
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The Start to our Success

• Brainstorm
• Survey Student Body
• Early promotion of presentations to students
• Support from Administration
• Session topics
• Presenters
• External Partners - Vendors
• Faculty and Staff

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Campus Communication

• University awareness by publishing an article in
  campus newspaper read by Faculty and Staff.
• Encourage the Student Newspaper staff to write
  articles about the uccessful Start Program.
• Post Billboards and flyers around campus for
  additional exposure.

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Worried About Debt After College?Are You
Confused About Your Financial Future? Are You
Looking For Some Guidance?
uccessful Start BCs Financial Literacy Program
Sponsored by the Office of Student Services will
be hosting Building Your Financial
Future Tuesday, March 244 p.m. 6 p.m. in
Walsh Function Room Join us for Food, Fun, and
Prizes! The workshop is limited to 50
peopleR.S.V.P. to successfulstart_at_bc.edu
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Topics for Sessions

• Budgeting
• Credit
• Credit Cards
• Debt Management
• Student Loan Consolidation
• Loan Management
• Personal Finance
• Investments
• Career Counseling
• Job Interviews

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Campus Involvement

• Student Organizations
• Athletics
• Resident Assistants
• Deans Dept. Heads
• Student Development
• Freshmen Orientation
• Staff

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PEER to PEER COUNSELING

• We are training student volunteers in the
  Business School to participate in 1 on 1 sessions
  with our students and/or employees interested in
  receiving financial counseling.
• Our Business School students are always looking
  for projects and our uccessful Start program is
  an ideal fit for them.

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Focus Groups

• We have utilized our Undergraduate School of
  Management Students to help in this endeavor.
• They have searched out Focus Groups for us and
  have invited them to participate.
• Students seem to respond to their peers as
  opposed to faculty or administration trying to
  impose the program on them.

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B C Brochure

• Click on Brochure
• for an example of how we promote our program at
  Boston College.

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Logistics

• Obtaining Classroom Space
• Audio/Video Equipment
• Door prizes or give a ways
• Pizza/Refreshments
• Handouts
• Evaluations
• Classroom Aides

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uccessful Start Evaluation

• Which uccessful Start session did you attend?
  _____________________________
• Was interaction with the speaker encouraged?
  Yes or No
• Did you receive handouts?
  Yes or No
• Are they useful to you
  Yes or No
• Name one or two of the most important things you
  learned at todays session._______________________
  ________________________________________
• _______________________________________________
  _______________
• Was the room comfortable and conducive to
  learning? Yes or No
• Will you recommend these sessions to your
  classmates? Yes or No
• If no, please explain. __________________________
  ___________________________
• We offer workshops on Budgeting and Money
  Management, Credit Management evaluation and
  repair, taxes, and consolidation. Would you be
  interested in any of the following topics for
  future workshops?
• Financial Planning Identity
  Theft Home Buying
• Financial Aid Basics Car
  Buying Social Security
• Other ____________________________________________
  __________________________
• 9) What is your class year?
• Freshman Sophomore Junior

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Library

• Create a well rounded source of information for
  your students.
• A library with periodicals, magazines, relevant
  books on financial matters.
• Have uccessful Start resources located in
  Reference Section of your main Library.

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TRIO PROGRAMS

• If your college or university has a TRIO program,
  effective August 2008, the New Higher Education
  Act requires by law that you must offer your TRIO
  students a Financial Counseling Program.

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TRIO PROGRAMS cont.

• Examples of currently established Trio programs
• Educational Opportunity Centers Program.
• Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement
  Program.
• Talent Search Program
• Upward Bound
• Veterans Upward Bound

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Educational Institutions Currently Providing
Financial Literacy Program
Boston College California State Univ.
Plymouth State Univ. Iowa State Univ.
Suffolk Un Law School Bowling Green State Univ.
Texas Tech Univ. The Ohio State Univ.
Univ. of Alabama Univ. of Georgia
Univ. of Minnesota Univ. of North Texas
Univ. of Pittsburgh Univ. of Virginia
Univ. of Washington Georgetown Univ. Law
New York Law School Virginia Tech
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Educational Institutions Currently Providing
Financial Literacy (cont.)
Brigham, Young Univ. Univ. of Missouri
Univ of Arizona Univ. of Rhode Island
Wright State Univ. Univ. of Wisconsin
Auburn Univ. Utah State Univ.
Midwestern Univ. Stanford Univ.
Montana State Univ. Spelman College
Northeastern IL. Univ. Univ. of Hawaii
Univ. of Iowa Temple University

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Financial Literacy andCollege Success

• This web site provides contact information and
  data on many of the colleges and universities
  that are providing Financial Literacy Programs.
• Get_Financially_Fit_Education_Program_List

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Valuable Web Sites

• www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.h
  tml
• www.bc.edu/successfulstart
• www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/learningcenter/i
  ndex.html
• www.cashcourse.org
• www.jumpstart.org
• www.studentdebthelp.org
• www.creditcardnation.com
• www.truthaboutcredit.org
• www.temple.edu/sfs/budgeting.htm

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Additional Web Sites

• www.hughchou.org/calc/coffee.cgi
• www.decisionpartners.org
• www.choosetosave.org
• www.ibrinfo.org/about.vp.html
• www.mappingyourfuture.org/money
• www.wsj.com/financialplanning
• www.bankrate.com
• www.annualcreditreport.com
• www.practicalmoneyskills.com

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National Student Loan Program NSLPs Financial
Literacy Symposium.url
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40 Money Management Tips
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The Money Conference for Women

• Massachusetts State Treasurer, Tim Cahill
  sponsors a program each year specifically geared
  to women covering a myriad of financial
  information.
• www.themoneyconference.com

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External Sources for Packaged Financial
Literacy Programs

• www.decisionpartners.org
• www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.h
  tml

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PowerPoint Presentations to consider

• North Texas State, a forerunner in promoting
  financial literacy on campus.
• The NASFA July 2008 Conference by the National
  Endowment for Financial Education another good
  presentation.
• Ed Fund has an great PowerPoint Presentation Go
  to their web site at www.edfund/BuildingFutures

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Valuable Web site

• Citizens Bank Tip Sheets for Students and Parents
• This is a great site for Early Intervention with
  great information for students prior to entering
  college.

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Boston College Site

• Our web site for our financial literacy program
  is located at
• www.bc.edu/successfulstart

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PowerPoint Presentation

• For an electronic copy of any of these
  presentations you can email me at
  
• brownjo_at_bc.edu

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Measuring Our Success

• Successful Start Evaluations have consistently
  generated extremely positive responses.
• Participation average is 27 students per session
  with a FY 2010 goal increase in attendance to 40
  per session.
• Over 50 workshops have been offered to date with
  multiple repeat attendees.
• The Boston College Community is now very aware of
  our presence on campus.

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Whats Next?

• Our next program phase is to make contact with
  our graduates who attended our financial literacy
  workshops and collect feedback from them. Is
  what they learned helping them post graduation?
• Another goal is to get our School of Management
  Students and our Committee involved at the local
  high schools and begin offering programs at the
  high school level.

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• Thank you for attending and please consider
  implementing
• a financial literacy program to help secure the
  financial stability of your students.
• John G. Brown
• Boston College
• Student Services Lyons Hall Rm 111
• Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
• Tel [phone]
• Email brownjo_at_bc.edu