College & Trade School Case Studies
In the past, the biggest barriers encountered by colleges and trade schools looking to participate in financial literacy initiatives centered on the cost, time, and complexity involved to develop and deploy financial education programming. A properly-designed financial education campaign provides ways in for colleges and trade schools to make long-term positive differences in their student bodies, facilities, and the overall communities.
The NFEC designs programs that reflect positively on your brand and that align with the National Financial Capability Strategy, which underpins national standards for promoting financial literacy. Best practices demonstrate that programming should include education, awareness, and sustainability components.
Industry Overview
How Colleges & Trade Schools Participate in Financial Education
As a nation, we spend about $670 million per year on financial education to meet the growing demand being spurred by regulatory pressures, increased funding and social interest, and growing competition among various corporate and nonprofit stakeholders.
Currently colleges and trade schools make up a small portion of financial education programming. There is a significant gap in the field of higher education when it comes to ensuring that students are prepared for the financial realities they will face after graduation.
Our higher learning institutions share similar goals: student recruitment, reducing student loan defaults, connecting with parents, building community goodwill, adding for-credit financial education courses, attracting media attention, and improving students’ financial knowledge.
Penn State CFCO
Penn State Center for Financial & Consumer Outreach
The NFEC partnered with Penn State CFCO to deliver comprehensive financial education programming across the state of Pennsylvania. This campaign featured more than 30 financial literacy assets provided by the NFEC, including special events, celebrity partnerships, a custom training website, performance testing, volunteer training and more.
At the center of this campaign was the effort to train educators and volunteers across the state with the Certified Financial Education Instructor Training. The NFEC trained the Director of the Center for Financial & Consumer Outreach, Erica Jackson, as the master trainer to lead in-person CFEI trainings across PA.
Educators from more than 100 schools and nonprofits participated in the NFEC’s Certified Financial Educator Instructor training program. This ongoing service now is offered across Pennsylvania; the influence and impact of the service is magnified as qualified people share the message of financial literacy with youth statewide.
The NFEC and the CFCO campaign was conducted year-round – providing resources, training, and support to groups hosting financial education events. The ongoing campaign launched each year with a high-profile event: the High School Symposium. More than 400 youth, educators, and volunteers participated in this two-day event. Youth from 15 high schools took part in the NFEC’s Real Money Experience hands-on financial literacy workshop.
During the RMX event, students visited 12 booths where they received practical tools for handling the financial decisions they would face post-graduation. At the same time, educators and volunteers took part in the NFEC’s Certified Financial Education Instructor training program so they could continue delivering the lessons the students learned at the RMX event.
By the end of the third year, the NFEC helped the CFCO create a revenue stream that paid for the High School Symposium, educator training, and Real Money Experience event. The extra funding helped them offer more students with scholarships to attend the event.
Process
The pre-launch phase was spent building relationships and creating a program that met University program objectives. A comprehensive awareness campaign was begun and further focus was placed on developing relationships with schools and nonprofit organizations. These efforts aligned with Penn State’s objective to connect with community groups to encourage higher education.
The ongoing campaign launched with a high-profile event: the High School Symposium. More than 400 youth, educators, and volunteers participated in this two-day event. Youth from 15 high schools took part in the events. At the same time, educators and volunteers took part in the NFEC’s Certified Financial Education Instructor training program so they could continue delivering the lessons the students learned at the RMX event.
The High School Symposium launched the statewide educator training initiative. Educators from more than 100 schools and nonprofits undertook a portion of the NFEC’s Certified Financial Educator Instructor training program. The NFEC trained the Director of the Center for Financial & Consumer Outreach to teach volunteers, educators, and concerned citizens how to deliver financial literacy lessons. This ongoing service is now offered across Pennsylvania; the influence and impact of the service is magnified as qualified people share the message of financial literacy with youth statewide.
The educator training outreach launched phase three of the initiative: the Financial EduNation Campaign. The Resource Center provides complimentary personal finance resources to parents, students, educators, and community groups. These materials, developed by the NFEC’s highly-qualified team of educators, financial professionals, and financial education experts, include curriculum, multimedia learning centers, training, and access to turnkey money management programs. The Resource Center was custom-branded for Penn State.
The fourth phase focused on awareness and expansion of the state-wide Campaign. A solid foundation of supporters, partners, and internal advocates are currently building this initiative from the foundation laid in its first three phases. The financial education events were annualized to provide signature events for the community. The NFEC’s public relations team is launching a comprehensive media outreach campaign, starting with a statewide Public Service Announcement and enlisting celebrity supporters to bring the initiative into the mainstream.
The Penn State campaign has achieved sustainability. Partners, sponsors, and collaborative efforts have ensured that the outreach associated with the campaign pays for itself. Thus the program reaches the largest number of youth and people across Pennsylvania who support youth development.
Wake Technical Community College
SunTrust Foundation with Wake Technical College
The NFEC designed, deployed and manage a campus wide campaign at Wake Technical Community College with the SunTrust Foundation as the sponsor since 2013. To meet the goal of raising financial literacy competencies among Wake Tech students, staff, and community members the NFEC developed the multimethod programming and developed the branding for the SunTrust Foundation Center for Financial Education at Wake Technical Community College.
Combining live events, financial education-based contests, an eLearning center, interactive experiences, and a personal finance mobile app, the NFEC built an authentic, dynamic learning experience while giving students access to practical financial education programming.
To date this initiative has included more than 150 live instructional events for students, parents, faculty and staff. In addition to live instruction, promotional events and contests encourage active participation while raising awareness about the program. Online and mobile learning also contribute to the educational mix. The NFEC’s proprietary eLearning platform forms the backbone of the Center’s online personal finance initiative.
The campaign’s focus on increasing the reach of the programming was achieved through a mixture of building new partnerships, campus-wide marketing, generating media coverage, building an online presence, word-of-mouth networking, and other collaborative efforts.
For Wake Tech College, the NFEC designed a comprehensive financial wellness program incorporating live events, media outreach and promotion, workshops, crash courses, and contests. This holistic effort was made possible by the sponsorship of the SunTrust Foundation.
The NFEC designed the Wake Tech campaign with the goal of raising financial competencies among the broadest possible group of students, parents, staff, and community members. The campaign had multiple components:
Center for Financial Education: At program outset, the NFEC helped Wake Tech and the SunTrust Foundation open the Center for Financial Education which serves students, faculty, and the whole community with financial education and resources.
Customized Instruction: The NFEC implements the Center’s acclaimed Financial Empowerment Workshop series which takes place over four college class periods and covers lessons in credit, debt, savings, money management, and investment basics. Multimedia videos and real-world activities are featured to engage participants while they improve their financial foundation. Two 90-minute crash courses also have been created – one to help students reduce or eliminate debt, and one aimed particularly at helping educators and staff take action toward retirement planning.
Live Events: High-profile open house events showcase the NFEC’s financial education opportunities at Wake Tech, including the College Family Finance event for students accompanied by parents and the Financial Empowerment event for students who attend alone. Each April the NFEC helps Wake Tech celebrate Financial Literacy Month with free access to online financial education, a booth at the Spring Fling, and other exciting activities.
The campaign also hosts an annual Financial Scavenger Hunt contest, a reality-based competition that helps people learn money management skills while getting a chance to win fun prizes. The contest includes activities that help build solid financial foundations, such as reviewing SunTrust’s student checking account options and calculating compound interest.
Each Wake Tech semester ends with a Closing Ceremonies event wrapping up the financial education campaign activities with fun, food, and participant recognition.
Media Outreach: The NFEC supports Wake Tech to gain important media coverage, distribute flyers around campus, build presence online and in the social media, conduct word-of-mouth networking, and use the NFEC’s email listserv to reach more than 20,000 people with information about the SunTrust and Wake Tech-sponsored financial literacy events.
Collaborative Partnerships: Part of the NFEC’s financial literacy mission involves building collaborative partnerships to maximize the use of resources and extend program reach and support. At Wake Tech the NFEC has facilitated collaborations with a variety of community and campus organizations including Jack and Jill of America, the COSMO department, dental hygiene program, and Business 125 courses. These collaborations make it possible for the campaign to reach hundreds of students, staff, and community members with financial education courses each year.
With the support of the NFEC and SunTrust, the Wake Tech financial education initiative has achieved sustainability across campus and in the surrounding community. Demonstrating the sponsors’ commitment to improving financial outcomes for students, staff, faculty, and community members alike, this program has been steadily expanding over the past three years and shows every indication of continuing to extend its reach and positive impact. This initiative epitomizes how successful collaboration between the college, organizations, and students can empower the whole community with financial knowledge.
Arizona State University & MidFirst Bank
Arizona State University & MidFirst Bank
The NFEC created a campus-wide peer financial literacy initiative for MidFirst Bank to deploy across Arizona State University. This program is going into its fifth year and was designed to widen the reach of financial literacy programming and improve the financial capabilities of its students.
The NFEC developed the core campus-wide campaign, including the materials they needed to host and promote their financial literacy programming. At the center of the campaign were their student-led program facilitators.
The program was peer-led, so Arizona State University students were trained and certified to deliver the customized workshops. Both live in-person and virtual training were provided to students who participated in the Certified Financial Education Instructor training course.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University
OSU sought material for its financial literacy initiative that met the highest educational standards while being practical and usable. Their goal was to provide students with personal finance knowledge that will help them both in school and after graduation.
The NFEC developed for-credit coursework that met OSU’s detailed request. OSU personnel submitted a list of more than 70 topics to be addressed in the college-level personal finance course. The NFEC created customized lesson plans in accordance with their request in an effort to help students pick up fundamental financial skill sets.
The curriculum was designed for maximum flexibility; it can serve as a 1, 2, or 3 unit course and can be taught live or on e-learning platforms. The final deliverable was a custom branded curriculum package including: instructor guide, student guides, instructor’s resources, multimedia components, and rigorous testing.
To accommodate OSU’s specific needs, the NFEC created material that met ADA compliant regulations and standards set by OSU. The Certified Financial Education Instructor training program was also provided to ensure that the instructor felt confident to deliver the coursework effectively.
The NFEC commends Oregon State University for its efforts to provide a comprehensive for-credit college personal finance course.
Individuals
Educators form the backbone of the financial literacy movement. The NFEC has built a nationwide infrastructure of financial educators who can give high-quality presentations that meet the needs of a wide range of organizations and groups. Members of the Personal Finance Speakers Association are working in communities across the country to promote financial wellness. Here are their stories:
