A Financial Literacy Program $uccessful Start

1. A Financial Literacy Program$uccessful Start EASFAA 43rd Annual Conference Washington, DC May 17th – 20th, 2009 John Brown Boston College

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

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

4. I subscribe to the following theory… Don’t reinvent the wheel, when you can steal the whole car!

5. John’s Top Ten Reasons toOffer Financial Literacy Workshops

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Current Student Issues

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Worried About Debt After College?Are You Confused About Your Financial Future? Are You Looking For Some Guidance? $uccessful Start BC’s 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@bc.edu

12. Topics for Sessions • Budgeting • Credit • Credit Cards • Debt Management • Student Loan Consolidation • Loan Management • Personal Finance • Investments • Career Counseling • Job Interviews

13. Campus Involvement • Student Organizations • Athletics • Resident Assistants • Deans & Dept. Heads • Student Development • Freshmen Orientation • Staff

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. B C Brochure Click on: Brochure for an example of how we promote our program at Boston College.

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

18. $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 today’s 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 Senior Grad Student Law Student 10) Additional Comments about your experience with the $uccessful Start program. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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

22. Educational Institutions Currently Providing Financial Literacy Program

23. Educational Institutions Currently Providing Financial Literacy (cont.)

24. 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

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

26. 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

27. National Student Loan Program NSLP’s Financial Literacy Symposium.url

28. 40 Money Management Tips

29. 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

30. External Sources for Packaged Financial Literacy Programs • www.decisionpartners.org • www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html

31. 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

32. 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.

33. Boston College Site Our web site for our financial literacy program is located at: www.bc.edu/successfulstart

34. PowerPoint Presentation • For an electronic copy of any of these presentations you can email me at: brownjo@bc.edu

35. 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.

36. What’s 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.

37. 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: 617.552.3370 Email: brownjo@bc.edu