What Is The Problem of Financial Education Program / It Finance

A college or university setting offers the opportunity to educate students at important decision points during their life to help them ?avoid mistakes and missed opportunities?. Consider just a few of these decision points in the life cycle of a student: choosing a major, financing an education, establishing credit, renting an apartment or home, paying for major purchases, reviewing job offers, and choosing health-care coverage or a retirement plan. Many young people are vulnerable when it comes to making important financial decisions.

Challenges students face while in the process of assimilating to a campus community may include escalating tuition costs, being presented with various unforeseeable expenses, and the use of financial aid packages and credit cards or other loan products. Within these decision points and others are opportunities and challenges that can be addressed by a financial education program.

Some students may experience difficulty at decision points in their life because of a lack of experience or knowledge and also because of the amount of information that is available. Multiple sources of information exist in a rapidly changing environment. Unfamiliar financial terminology and numerous complex financial products and related documents can be daunting for students and nonstudents alike. So in some cases, ?what is lacking is not information but rather the ability to interpret the information?.

A financial education program can fulfill the role of translator to assist students in making informed decisions. A focus on personal finance offers the opportunity for problem prevention and early intervention. It is easy to make a case for this by simply observing trends and personal financial outcomes in adult populations, e.g., low savings rates, lack of
retirement preparedness, and/or debt and default levels. College students make decisions that have lasting financial implications for years to come, and many of them recognize this. A cursory search of your campus newspaper is likely to reveal a plea from students for financial education resources at your college or university. Financial wellness is a component of overall well-being and a status of financial health.

Many universities have wellness programs or wellness centers that promote the integration of health and wellness to enhance their students? physical and emotional health. Joo contends that to become financially healthy, individuals need to demonstrate desirable behaviors in cash management, credit and debt management, planning for events during the life cycle, and consumerism. All or most of these are behaviors that students will exhibit. Therefore, why not include personal finance in an existing university wellness program?

While financial education efforts have been shown to be effective in some groups, they have had mixed results among others. Despite this, there is still much that we do not know about students. A program in a higher education institution provides a means to learn about students? financial management practices, knowledge, and attitudes. A financial education program can provide important evidence-based outcomes to the university and the community. Financial education programs can be easily designed to reflect university missions of outreach, research, and teaching while at the same time helping students become more financially sophisticated. Expanding financial literacy is not the only goal of financial education programs. These programs are also in line with college and university goals to increase student retention rates and limit delayed graduation or academic interruption of students due to financial reasons. Financial education programs may best serve their students by providing access to important resources, such as emergency loans offered by the college or university, affordable housing, or directions to a food bank.

Universities who invest in future generations through a financial education program will foster the transfer of financial knowledge and skills likely resulting in financially independent and responsible alumni. Loan default prevention and timely graduation are two outcomes that are of great importance in higher education.

To find an article in a school newspaper highlighting the need and desire for student financial literacy is not difficult. Building a program from the ground up is challenging and not as easy as simply identifying the need. As will be illustrated throughout this book, other matters must be addressed when initiating a financial education program including recruiting and training of staff members, obtaining support, determining programming content, developing marketing strategies, forming partnerships, and evaluating processes and outcomes. Before delving into the specifics of beginning a program, it is important to have an understanding of the issues faced by today?s college students. As advised by a program director surveyed for this post, research must be done in your institution to answer the following questions:

? What is the quantity of student loan debt among your students?
? What is the quantity in dollars that the Financial Aid Office is processing in student loans?
? What is the default rate for your graduates?
? Are your students citing money-related issues as reasons for them leaving the university?
? Are money-related questions on any existing surveys or questionnaires being distributed to students? If ?yes,? what are the findings?

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