The University of Colorado System is comprised of four campuses: Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Anschutz Medical. The University of Colorado is augmented its existing programs with innovative multimedia approaches to engage graduate and undergraduate students.

Project plan and activities:

Overall, the University of Colorado System created targeted communications to individual students that better inform them of their current debt load, estimated loan repayment amounts, and repayment options, as well as augment campuses’ initiatives by software and communications support, particularly with the design and production of financial education game(s) for mobile devices.

Every campus promoted the Financial Awareness Counseling that is provided by StudentLoans.gov; focused on increasing an understanding of loans; partnered with the credit unions with which the campuses have relationships to present timely and effective topics; helped students with credit, budgeting, financing a career, privacy protection, identity theft, and applying for financial aid and scholarships; and educated international students with and introduction to money and banking in the US.

Campus-specific plans include:

Anschutz Medical/Denver Campuses used several media outlets and campus programs (such as the First Year Seminar, Lynx Center, TRiO Program, CU Peer Advocate Program, CU Career Center, CU Experiential Learning Center, and Office of Student Life) in the project to:

• Create new financial literacy content on topics such as credit and budgeting, financing a career, applying for financial aid and scholarships, understanding taxes for students, privacy protection and identity theft, and introduction to money and banking in the US for international students
• Expand “Money Matter$”
• Partner with student groups in innovative ways to engage students

More information on the project can be found here.

The Boulder campus partnered with several student organizations including Greek Life, Student Government Finance Board, Hall Councils, New Student Orientation, among others, to:

• Incorporate extensive materials including CGS developed programs, websites, calculators, surveys, and data into Education Cents program
• Develop a mobile application for student financial education to focus on money management, financing a degree, return on investment, long-term planning and troubleshooting, and excessive debt prevention

More information on the project can be found here.

The Colorado Springs Campus involved the Graduate School, Career Center, Multicultural Office for Student Access, Inclusiveness and Community, and the Office of Financial aid, Student Employment, and Scholarships to:

• Create a financial education website which will incorporate existing content from various websites
• Integrate materials and financial awareness into existing counseling processes        

More information on the project can be found here.

To provide comprehensive financial literacy, Ohio State University developed Financial eGAUGE (Financial Education for Graduates And Undergraduates from GradSchool to Employment), which is a collaboration of the Graduate School and Scarlet & Gray Financial (SGF) program. SGF provides free financial advice and education to students at Ohio State through large group presentations, workshops, and in-person financial coaching.

Project plan and activities:

Resources include a full continuum of online and in-person offerings, including eLearning modules, webinars, small group workshops, and individual one-on-one coaching. Specifically, this project (1) scaled SGF’s in-person services and (2) developed an eLearning module system for financial education. With the fruition of this program, students have full access to financial literacy resources individualized to their needs.

Financial eGAUGE targets a wide range of students with specifically tailored methods according to each student’s financial situation. Using a multi-method tiered approach, online content and eLearning modules are the least personal and tailored, but allow the entire student population to access financial education information as they need it. Next, group presentations and seminars are utilized to reach large groups of students as well, and the content is more tailored and interactive. One-on-one coaching provides the most relevant information to each student. Students with low financial literacy or high levels of financial stress or risk are encouraged to request a one-on-one appointment, whereas student with higher financial literacy or lower levels of stress are encouraged to explore online financial literacy platforms, workshops, seminars, or group activities.

Scarlet & Gray Financial is staffed primarily by undergraduate student volunteer peer coaches, but the program expanded their range to include graduate-level peer coaches and Graduate Student Financial Ambassadors. The program covers a multitude of topics, including financial foundations, student loan entrance counseling, avoiding identity theft, budgeting, credit cards and reports, student loan repayment, and major purchases, among others. Financial counseling opportunities specifically target graduate (especially in social, behavioral, and economic sciences (SBE) fields), underrepresented minority (URM), and high-risk students, as well as undergraduate students considering a graduate career. 

The Graduate School incorporated financial literacy into its Preparing Future Faculty Program and added interactive workshops before or after other student organization meetings (such as Ohio Union Activities Board Grad/Prof Series and Council of Graduate Students’ Professional Development Series) to provide population-specific content and promote one-on-one coaching services.

More information on the project can be found here.

Mississippi State University’s project uses a variety of content and delivery methods designed to engage a broad population of students, including traditional, face-to-face lecture-based courses; hands-on web app design, development, testing, and distribution; “road show” modular workshops delivered face-to-face at student organization and group meetings; group discussions at PFF meetings; one-on-one counseling; and online modules and videos. Financial literacy training is delivered broadly to graduate and undergraduate students, while targeting the African American population in particular through numerous student organizations, including MSU Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education (IMAGE) Program, Underrepresented Minority Summer Research Program, Men of Excellence, and IDEAL Woman.

Project plan and activities:

The project team developed a financial literacy smartphone web application that includs several components related to financial literacy, including a variety of calculators, assessment tools, and links to other relevant information. After development and testing, the app will be available from the iTunes App store and the Android App Market for free worldwide. Calculators support “what if” analysis, so the user can see the effect of different interest rates, for instance, or number of payments/contributions, etc.

An online library guide on financial literacy was compiled for use by the MSU community. The guide serves as a web portal that provides graduate and undergraduate students access to both locally developed and web-based information on financial literacy and financial management topics.

Part of MSU’s project is the Financial Literacy at Mississippi State website, designated to inform the MSU community about personal finances and include a calendar of financial literacy training events, links to materials, and other resources.

MSU made significant use of social media to promote upcoming financial literacy events, including newly established Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. Face-to-face workshops were videotaped and are available via YouTube, allowing dissemination to a broader audience. These workshops for students focused on topics such as: tips for living economically, how to use credit cards, financing degrees, and maximizing the return on college investment

For graduate students, a personal finance component was added to Preparing Future Faculty, Graduate Student Association, Black Graduate Student Association, New Graduate Student Orientation, Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week, and several other programs and events.

A new first-year seminar course introduces college freshmen to all target areas of financial literacy. Students are also able to consult Career Counseling, conducted by career counselors in the MSU Career Center, for one-on-one counseling on the cost to benefit ratio of graduate education, addressing the key area of long-term planning.

More information on the project can be found here.

Loyola University Chicago’s project developed, promoted, and delivered expanded, enhanced, more comprehensive and new, creative, and innovative educational programs on financial aid, financial concepts, and debt management to graduate and undergraduate Loyola students.

Project plan and activities:

Loyola’s project incorporates the specific needs of special populations, beginning with basic concepts before graduating to more intermediate and advanced content areas.  For undergraduate and graduate students with limited financial knowledge, basic financial education interventions are provided on topics from types of aid available to basic budgeting to understanding credit and loan options. Financial education at the intermediate level covers topics relevant for undergraduate and graduate students who have moved beyond their first year of study and are confronted with debt management and personal financing issues. Advanced financial education is provided in a formal financial education course for undergraduates that was implemented in 2014 as a part of the Quinlan School of Business core curriculum, and provides a basis for the establishment of similar courses in other schools of the university. Additional advanced education is presented in two workshops per semester for upperclassmen and graduate students focusing on concepts of personal investing after graduation towards a financially stable and comfortable life and eventual retirement.

The Financial Aid Office (FAO) expanded content and resources provided to undergraduate students to include more general financial planning and debt management education, and individual financial counseling for all students that are in the highest need category. Family members of these students are invited to participate in additional financial planning sessions. Undergraduates also receive financial education content that was added to the Freshman Seminar.

Graduate students at Loyola University Chicago also attend enhanced advanced workshops on debt management, investment strategies, and scholarship/fellowship/grant application writing.

Several innovative, interactive, and digital approaches, including peer-to-peer workshops with finance-based board games, extensive online tools and games, a new Comprehensive Financial Education website, interactive improvisational theater presentations, and comic improvisation events were utilized. LUC-Enactus business students collaborated in this project by adapting their financial educational program for high school students for use with Loyola undergraduate and graduate students. Workshop activities included short videos explaining basic financial concepts, followed by a discussion of examples, challenges, and decisions that may arise.

Students use the financial education game “MindBlown Life,” an immersive and social career simulation mobile game that provides students with an interactive and engaging financial experience. In the game, players create a fully-customizable avatar; role-play working professionals; and earn resources through heart-pumping, physics-based mini-games. They make numerous decisions throughout the course of gameplay and experientially learn everything from basic budgeting and financing college to managing their credit score and effectively dealing with debt. Loyola is working together with MindBlown Labs, the creators of this game, for beta-testing and full-scale implementation.

More information on the project can be found here.

Kansas State University is expanding and enhancing financial educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students with Powercat Financial Counseling (PFC), financial literacy teaching events, and the American Student Assistance (ASA) online tool, SALT^TM. The project includes education in the key areas of budgeting, understanding credit, and managing student loans.

Project plan and activities:

The goal of Kansas State University’s Powercat Financial Counseling (PFC) is to improve the financial literacy and success of all students, while also proving professional experience for students interested in financial planning as a career. PFC is a nationally recognized college financial education program centered on proactive service learning in all areas of college financial education. One of the unique features of PFC is the use of peer-to-peer teaching, which has been shown to be effective in student learning retention. One-on-one, group, and online counseling education are available to meet different learning needs of students. Students in the PFC program are trained to provide free counseling and group education to fellow students on topics such as student loan planning, budgeting, credit and responsible credit use, saving, and identity theft. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to meet one-on-one with PFC peer financial counselors to develop personalized financial planning strategies based on their individual financial circumstances. PFC also hosts a variety of fun, interactive events throughout the academic year to provide financial information via entertaining, memorable experiences.

As a part of Kansas State University’s project to enhance student financial education, the Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Recognition of Achievement in Professional Development Program incorporated financial education as a required component in at least one of the 10 teaching events graduate students must attend.

Kansas State University used university media venues (including newspaper, email, social media, bulletin boards, listservs, radio, etc.) to share information about available financial education resources.

The SALT online tool gives students and graduates the capability to understand and manage the full magnitude of their college debt in one view along with rich, multi-channel financial education that encourages positive behaviors for important financial skills relevant to students. SALT and the CGS developed financial tools and resources are incorporated in all approaches to allow students a hands-on experience understanding their own personal student loan debt and repayment options along with financial education and resources.

More information on the project can be found here.

The primary purpose of the project is to provide opportunities for every Iowa State University undergraduate and graduate student to improve their knowledge of personal finance and to set and achieve at least one personal finance goal within the timeline of the project. A secondary objective is to enhance Iowa State University’s campus-wide financial literacy work, especially to graduate students, and gain institutional commitment to sustain those professional development opportunities that prove to be best practices.

Project plan and activities:

A significant number of undergraduate and graduate students were engaged in the development, marketing, and implementation of a campus-wide financial literacy mobile or web-based game. Students competed to develop a game which engages students and lead to better financial behaviors. After a weekend “hackathon,” the winning game is being developed by a professional programmer, to make sure the infrastructure of the game is robust. Undergraduate and graduate student teams will pilot the game, which will be launched as a campus-wide competition.

Games are complemented by educational workshops on money management, degree financing, troubleshooting and prevention, long term planning, and ROI for undergraduate and graduate education, which are embedded in the regular activities of existing student groups and organizations. Workshops are tailored to meet the needs of the requesting student organization. The project leverages these workshops beyond the Iowa State campus through the NSF-funded Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network.

Financial information and decision-making tools are available to all students via email, a blog hosted by a financial counseling expert, a new website, and social and mass media. Students may electively take a one-credit online class in personal finance, with topics in budgeting, credit and debt, employee benefits, and money management.

Students also have individualized, professional financial counseling on a one-to-one or small group basis, providing students a high level of engagement. Specific students are targeted to receive further invitations for one-on-one counseling. Targeted students include students who answered they were worried about meeting their monthly expenses in the survey of 1^st year graduate students, as well as those in arrears on their university bill. Each face-to-face counseling session starts with an overall assessment of finances, sets a specific goal and then students are coached for six months. Coaching includes receiving follow-up calls, emails, or texts from the counselor to assess progress toward the goal.

More information on the project can be found here.

Eastern Illinois University established the Literacy in Financial Education (LIFE) Center, which seeks to enhance the financial literacy skills of students and change their knowledge and behaviors related to money management by providing financial education through various tools and resources. The LIFE Center sponsors programs, activities, and events, which engage all levels of the student population.

Project plan and activities:

The new LIFE Center is promoted on the web through a new web site, the MyEIU/PAWS portal, a new monthly listserv, and webinars that promote financial literacy. Once students are admitted, specific information is presented to them relative to their academic stage through web-based video instruction, recorded and delivered using Panapto, and questions, using PollEverywhere record data, on MyEIU.

On campus, LIFE promotes financial education in elective and required freshmen seminars. The Student Success Center, faculty members, community organizations, Greek and service organizations, Off Campus Programs, and other student programs have access to financial literacy presentations and workshops. The LIFE Center had informational booths at several events on campus to promote awareness and interest. Student interns are available for peer-to-peer counseling sessions, promoted in presentations, workshops, and informational booths, for students looking for additional guidance.

A series including five archived, asynchronous, interactive webinars were developed and designed to enhance the financial literacy of the students and assess the program outcomes. For assessment purposes and data collection, each webinar utilizes polling tools and surveys to obtain student feedback. Students complete a webinar at each stage of their college careers. The themes of the webinar series include: Year 1: Getting on Track- How to avoid being forced to live with your parents after graduation due to finances; Year 2: Staying on Track- Do not close the door on opportunities because of poor financial decisions; Year 3: Financial Checkup- How is your financial health?; Year 4: Now What?- Graduation is here…what are my next financial steps?; and Graduate Students: I’ve made it this far, don’t blow it now!.

Graduate student assistants at Eastern Illinois University are required to complete a webinar designed by the LIFE Center on how to use the PAWS portal for budget planning, as well as reducing their debt load. Graduate students also have opportunities to conduct research related to financial literacy and mentor undergraduate students on financial preparedness.

Female students receive financial literacy presentations, workshops, mentoring, and career support from faculty, administrators, and prominent women leaders through student programs such as Web@ (Women Exploring Business and Technology), WISM (Women in Science and Math), and M3S (Minority Mentoring in Math and Sciences).

More information on the project can be found here.

Cornell University’s project tackles challenges in financial literacy education on multiple platforms, from peer guidance to workshops and online tools. The project creates a holistic, coordinated, comprehensive, and developmental approach to addressing financial needs of students, undergraduate through graduate/professional, by establishing a partnership among offices across campus that focus on academic success, student life, financial aid, student career services, student leadership organizations, international students, and human resources.

Project plan and activities:

Financial literacy materials and additional information were disseminated from multiple partners in Cornell’s project; this includes a new financial literacy website, which includes links to news reports, blogs, tools, resources about financial management, and information about project-related programming and events. The new financial literacy website, print materials, workshops and events, online and social media tools, blog presence, and guidance from faculty and future faculty develop campus-wide awareness of the need for student financial literacy education.

Cornell built upon its Graduate Students Mentoring Undergraduates (GSMU) partnership between the Graduate School and undergraduate Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) to develop a Peer Mentor program of graduate and advanced undergraduate students. These students are trained to help create peer awareness of the need for sound financial information and decision making and can guide peers to appropriate resources at Cornell and elsewhere specifically designed for students at various stages and transitions of their academic and professional careers. GSMU mentors share best practices in budgeting and saving with undergraduate students.

The project incorporats financial literacy education into ongoing future faculty programs though the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and the Cornell University Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CU-CIRTL). The project uses the national CIRTL Network’s online “classroom” to host financial literacy programs and to disseminate information among the 22 other CIRTL institutions.

Events included Financial Literacy Week, featuring a day-long Financial Literacy Fest, and other sessions that focused on budgeting, financial decision making and behaviors, education investment, credit management, and many other areas of financial literacy.

Cornell’s project has three phases. In Phase I, a project Steering Committee was formed to inventory existing financial literacy resources, identify potential resource gaps, implement focus groups with student participants in selected project partner programs, conduct pre-intervention and financial standing surveys developed by CGS, and train Peer Mentors through the Graduate School, OADI, and the GSMU program. The inventory formed the basis for a new Cornell website on managing personal finances. Phase 2 involved the beginning of workshops, CTE brown bag lunch events, CIRTL Coffee-Hours and other Network events, Financial Literacy Week featuring a day-long Financial Literacy Fest, and implementing the student-to-student Peer Mentor program. Phase 3 is a continuation of the project activities and assessments of the project’s effectiveness.

More information on the project can be found here.

Arkansas State University’s project places emphasis on the use of technology and peer mentorship to improve financial literacy in doctoral students, master’s students, veterans, and first-year undergraduate students. The Graduate School’s innovative peer-to-peer model ensures not only access to relevant information, but also encourages students to act on their knowledge to change their financial behaviors. The goal of the project is to educate students about financial matters and then to follow up with contact with peers who have either lived through the consequences of excessive debt to reasonable levels.

Project plan and activities:

The Interactive Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) developed a personalized National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) CashCourse website to distribute financial education materials. ASU’s personalized CashCourse website provides students with resources, videos, and tips on managing finances.

Financial education materials were developed and introduced in the First Year Experience (FYE) course for first year undergraduates. Students can access newly developed course materials on their iPads through iTunes U. New financial education material on budgeting, taxes, helping students to understand the true costs of borrowed money, and helping students to have realistic expectation of what ranges of income are currently available for their majors, were developed using material from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and NEFE. First year undergraduates also attend a series of peer-directed workshops, created and presented by students from Phi Beta Lambda, the Business honors society.

For graduate students, the core concerns are managing existing debt and making the transition to career. Peer seminar sessions and workshops on the effect of debt on one’s career and strategies for navigating the transition to work without accruing additional debt are available to both doctoral and master’s students. Students also have access to newly developed online financial education materials.

Program directors have access to peer workshops for use in their introductory or methods courses. Master’s students also have program specific honors societies or other student organizations that host workshops for programs that do not have introductory courses. The graduate Student Council hosts workshops and helps to publicize the CashCourse program (3^rd party, through NEFE) and online financial education components available on the website.

International students receive expanded financial education aimed at navigating international financial challenges, as well as a financial education workshop series especially tailored to the concerns of international graduate students. These workshops are taught by students and hosted by International Programs.

Veterans have increased information available in the Registrar’s office and the ASU Beck Pride Center, which serves combat wounded veterans. The Beck Pride Center links to CashCourse and CGS online materials on its website. The Pride Center also hosts workshops specific to the financial concerns of veterans. Veterans who are reservists gain additional material on the financial protections afforded them by the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940.

More information on the project can be found here.

2013 Summer Workshop Program

Selected PowerPoint presentations from the 2013 New Deans Institute and Summer Workshop are below. Presentations are offered as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. File size is indicated after the name of each presenter.

New Deans Institute Presentations

Session II: Governance and Organization
Robert Augustine (1.14 MB)
Jeannine Blackwell (285 KB)

Session III: Budget and Staff Management Strategies
Barbara Knuth (345 KB)
Pamela Stacks (121 KB)

Session IVA: Political Engagement
Maureen Grasso (578 KB)
Steven Matson (275 KB)

Session IVB: Graduate Admissions and Financing
Ramona Mellot (275 KB)
Carol Shanklin (92 KB)

Session V: Program Quality Assessment
Nancy Marcus (275 KB)
MJT Smith (92 KB)

Summer Workshop Presentations

ProQuest Breakfast Meeting
Marlene Coles (1.63 MB)

Plenary II: Everything is a Remix: Implications for Graduate Education
Charles Caramello (94 KB)
Nancy Marcus (47 KB)

NSF Support of Graduate Students: What Works? What's Needed?
Richard Linton (336 KB)
Giselle Muller-Parker(92 KB)

GRE/TOEFL Breakfast Meeting
Jacqueline Briel and Michelle Hampton (1.94 MB)

Becoming a Winner: Hints for Preparing a Successful ETS/CGS Award Proposal
Robert Augustine (340 KB)
Karen Colley (705 KB)
Karen Weddle-West (571 KB)

Enhancing Financial Education for Graduate and Undergraduate Students
Daniel Denecke and Jeff Allum (1.16 MB)
Mike Noetzel and Betsy Palmer (222 KB)