NFEC Certified Student Loan Counselor Training

Becoming a certified student loan counselor by receiving the Certified Personal Financial Wellness Consultant designation means that the individual has proven proficiencies and procedures for encouraging clients to build stronger financial positions. A NFEC Financial Coach is capable to conduct diverse activities for helping both people and communities to increase their financial wellbeing.

With high standards of academic rigor as well as practical applicability that prepares counselors to implement their skills, the NFEC Financial Coach training gives graduates the knowledge and skills they need to help clients achieve their financial goals. Course completion involves 180 hours of training and implementation, plus passage of a demanding final exam.

To assess the competence of NFEC Financial Coach graduates, the NFEC applies the National Institutes of Health’s Competencies Proficiency Scale. The NFEC also continues to support its graduates after program completion to ensure that they become established as distinguished financial counselors.

By the time you graduate from the program, you will have demonstrated that you have reached an advanced state of competency as a financial coach. We continue to support you after you graduate to become an expert and recognized authority in the financial coaching space.

While the NFEC Certified Student Loan Counselor coursework is still under development, the NFEC Financial Coach training materials are already in place. The subject matter was meticulously selected to help counselors achieve the best outcomes. Topics include both money management content and counseling/psychological theories and methods. Much of the training is conducted through virtual learning activities and practicum.

Components of the Student Loan Counselor Certification Course

• Counseling Process: Understand, Summarize, & Analyze
• Counseling Process: Instruct & Guide
• Counseling Process: Maintain & Support
• Behavioral Finance & Psychology – Aspects of Counseling
• Financial Counseling & Student Loan Counseling Strategies
• Content Knowledge of Money Management Topics
• Teaching Methods to Improve Client Understanding
• Counseling Standards for Professional Practice

Studying to become a certified student loan counselor with maximum effectiveness requires far more than reading a book or watching a video. For the NFEC’s Certified Personal Financial Wellness Consultant program, graduation requires a certain number of hours of practical training.

Would you get an operation from a surgeon who learned how to perform the surgery by reading a magazine? No – you would only trust a doctor who had proven successful at performing that surgery on other patients. Clients expect the same level of practical experience from their financial counselors. After all, those counselors are handling their financial futures.

That’s why the student loan debt counselor certification coursework includes experiential training – to ensure that clients can trust their financial counselors to serve them best.

NFEC Financial Coach Coursework Covers Four Experiential Training Types

The NFEC Financial Coach coursework – which qualifies certified student loan counselors and more – includes four levels of experiential training:

The NFEC developed standards for earning the Financial Coach Certification to distinguish coach qualifications and assure potential clients that coaches are held to the highest standards of excellence. These standards are centered around the principle that the coach has primary fiduciary responsibility to the client. More than a dozen authorities regulating the financial literacy industry are cited in the NFEC’s Financial Coaching Standards and Code of Ethics, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Although the financial coaching industry is not subject to specific regulations, the NFEC has proactively developed its own set of standards to protect both coaches and their clients. These standards include a theory-based teaching framework that ensures the quality and impact of educational programming. The standards also stipulate common language as a method to improve communication; and contain an awareness tool that underscores the ultimate importance of selecting highly-skilled educators.