Considerations for Financial Wellness Education: Content Delivery, Funding, and Assessment

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1 STUDENT AFFAIRS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Considerations for Financial Wellness Education: Content Delivery, Funding, and Assessment Custom Research Brief TABLE OF CONTENTS RESEARCH ASSOCIATE David Godow RESEARCH MANAGER Katie Sue Zellner I. Research Methodology II. III. IV. Executive Overview Financial Wellness Program Structure Content Delivery: Counseling and Workshops V. Funding and Budgets VI. Assessment and Implementation Guidance THE ADVISORY BOARD COMPANY WASHINGTON, D.C.

2 I. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Project Challenge: A member institution approached the Council with the following questions about structuring financial wellness education programs: Scope: What financial wellness programs exist at other institutions? What are the most common financial education topics in those settings? Program Structure: Are financial wellness programs primarily focused around curricular or co-curricular activities? Have institutions experimented with mandatory financial education classes or graduation requirements? Are there any examples of an experiential learning approach? Workshops and Counseling: Who leads courses, workshops or mentoring sessions? About how many students attend? How frequently do programs occur? Under what university unit are these programs housed? Online Tools: What online tools do universities use to teach financial literacy? What are the advantages and disadvantages of an online approach in terms of student engagement? Cross-Department Cooperation: Do other institutions offer programs sponsored by two or more university departments (e.g., financial wellness education that draws both on student affairs leaders and business or finance faculty)? If so, what university departments make effective partners? Funding: What funding is required for financial wellness programs? What potential funding sources are the most reliable? Assessment & Learning Outcomes: What are the learning outcomes that administrators at other institutions outlined for their financial wellness programs? How do administrators measure progress against these outcomes? What methods do administrators use to assess progress (e.g., participant satisfaction surveys or post-program test measuring achievement of outcomes)? Do administrators measure results that extend beyond the wellness program (e.g., longitudinal analysis of successful student investments, lower debt levels, or responsible fiscal management)? Project Sources: Advisory Board s internal and online research libraries ( The Chronicle of Higher Education ( National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) ( Contact institution web sites Definition of Terms: Counseling: Across contact institutions, counseling refers to one-on-one coaching on financial topics and does not refer to psychological counseling The Advisory Board Company 2

3 I. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Parameters: The Council interviewed administrators of financial education and wellness programs at master s and research universities. A Guide to the Institutions Profiled in this Brief Institution Region Type Approximate Total Enrollment Classification University A South Public 28,000 Doctoral/Research Universities University B Midwest Public 28,000 University C Northeast Public 15,000 University D South Public 35,000 Organization A Midwest N/A N/A University E Midwest Public 64,000 University F South Public 17,000 Research Universities (very high research activity) Research Universities (high research activity) Research Universities (high research activity) Third-party, non-profit, financial aid services firm Research Universities (very high research activity) Doctoral/Research Universities University G Mid- Atlantic Public 21,000 Master s Colleges and Universities (larger programs) Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 2011 The Advisory Board Company 3

4 II. EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Key Observations: Financial wellness programs at six of seven contact institutions offer co-curricular financial education, emphasizing workshops, counseling, campus events, and online tools. One contact institution, University A, offers a for-credit personal finance course. To frame financial education in the context of whole-person wellness, financial wellness coordinators partner with other campus departments and organizations and introduce personal financial topics in terms of real-life experiences. Additionally, two financial wellness programs are affiliated with the campus health center. Six of seven contact institutions offer some combination of peer and professional financial counseling. Contacts note advantages and disadvantages to both peer and professional counselors. Several contacts indicate that peer counselors connect and communicate better with their advisees, but other contacts observe that advisees prefer to meet with professional counselors because of their experience and maturity. Workshops and seminars feature prominently in financial literacy programming at six of seven surveyed institutions. Contacts report that co-sponsoring workshops with other campus organizations can improve workshop attendance. Additionally, program coordinators at three contact institutions target workshops to first-year students. Contacts at most profiled institutions refer students to online resources and tools, which range from collections of web articles on financial education to interactive games. At University B, students can enroll in a for-credit online course; online quizzes following each course module allow financial education coordinators to track students progress against learning outcomes. Several contacts report distributing short student satisfaction surveys to assess program quality. Contacts suggest several other metrics for program success: time to graduation, retention rate, and debt accumulation of financial wellness program participants relative to the general student population. Contacts identify three primary funding sources for financial wellness programs: student fees, sponsorship from other university departments and organization, and external partners. Several contacts indicate that credit card partners serve as external partners, providing funding as part of a campus affinity agreement The Advisory Board Company 4

5 III. FINANCIAL WELLNESS PROGRAM STRUCTURE Two Program Structures: Curricular or Co-Curricular Across contact institutions, financial education programs adopt either a curricular focus or a primarily cocurricular focus. Co-curricular: Six of seven institutions offer financial education through co-curricular programs, which include workshops, personal counseling, and campus events often co-hosted with other organizations. Three programs are housed within student affairs divisions, two in integrated campus wellness centers, and one in an academic department. Curricular: At one contact institution, University A, financial education is delivered primarily through traditional, credit-bearing courses. At University A, the financial education program is located in the university s business college. Program Model Co-Curricular Curricular Program Location Student Affairs Division Campus Wellness Center Academic Department or College Contact Institution University D, University F, University G University E, University C University B University A A Co-Curricular Approach with Academic Affiliation at University B University B s financial counseling center is unique among profiled co-curricular programs in that an academic department, not the division of student affairs, provides space and oversight for the program. The clinic is housed in the university s College of Human Sciences. Though its primary service is one-on-one professional counseling, a co-curricular activity, the clinic also offers an online, for-credit course on personal finance in early adulthood. Contacts at University B suggest that the program s affiliation with an academic department provided a direct pathway and faculty support for the development of a credit-bearing course The Advisory Board Company 5

6 III. FINANCIAL WELLNESS PROGRAM STRUCTURE Framing Financial Education in Wellness Terms Most contact institutions frame financial education in a holistic manner that encourages students to understand personal finance on the same level as physical or emotional health. All contacts report that framing financial literacy in terms of broader personal wellness is an important goal, but the means to that end vary based on a program s model and location in profiled institutions. Contacts describe three primary methods of threading financial literacy into a holistic wellness framework: collaborating with another university organization, relating financial education topics to life experiences, and creating or utilizing a centralized campus wellness center. 1 Collaborating with another University Organization Contacts at University G, University F, University E, and University D report that weaving financial education into the activities of other campus organizations creates broader awareness of personal finance issues. Additionally, contacts at University F and University D note that co-sponsored events minimize competition for already limited student co-curricular attention. A financial education program that networks heavily with other organizations can also reportedly improve its recognition among students, faculty and staff. Partner Joint Project Description Academic Advising Personnel Training At University D, financial educators train the university s entire academic advisor corps in financial counseling techniques and help advisors develop finance-themed events and workshops for their advisees. Similarly, at University A, instructors offer a 10-week personal finance seminar for faculty and staff. Student Organization Leaders and Faculty Members Residential Advisors Business School Faculty Cooperative Workshops Residence Hall Programming Tax Preparation Site Contacts at University G, University D and University F explain that financial education programs schedule workshops during student organization meetings and during class meetings at the invitation of student leaders and faculty members. Contacts at University G and University D also report targeting special seminars to at-risk demographics, such as transfer students or TriO program participants. At University C, contacts indicate that financial education program coordinators partner with residential life staff to develop financial literacy curricula for resident advisors. Coordinators also develop passive learning tools, including posters and other graphic aids to hang in hallways and common areas. At University G, the financial education center partners with a business school professor to operate an IRS-approved tax preparation site. Six Saturdays a year, the site s student volunteers assist local, low-income families in completing their tax returns and identifying potential deductions or credits. As part of their training, students must pass an IRS exam covering the structure of the tax code The Advisory Board Company 6

7 III. FINANCIAL WELLNESS PROGRAM STRUCTURE 2 Relating Financial Literacy to Life Decisions Contacts at University A, which operates a curricular financial education program, report that framing financial education in terms of life decisions helps to correlate financial wellness to broader wellness. University A Instructors Address Marriage through Lends of Financial Wellness University A s personal finance class, a three credit-hour course enrolling 500 students per semester, contains a two-day learning module focused on what contacts call the biggest financial decision in a person s life marriage. As part of the module, instructors note the leading cause of divorce is not infidelity, as many students assume, but arguments over money. Additionally, they encourage students to think of marriage not only as the romantic union of two people, but as the creation of a new financial unit that functions according to the financial personalities of each partner. 3 Utilizing an Integrated Student Wellness Center University E and University C provide financial education through their respective wellness centers; furthermore, the centers integrate financial wellness and other wellness topics through cross-topic programming and centralized counseling. Contacts at University E offer three specific strategies that promote financial education in a wellness framework: Overall Wellness Center Counseling Financial educators who notice students struggling with physical or emotional issues related to financial stress refer students to the center s other professionals, including psychologists or dieticians. Centralizing all counseling services into one office allows for more coordination between professionals. University E contacts also plan to add general wellness counselors, who can assess new students and refer them to the correct specialists. Wellness Mandate University E s leaders plan to introduce an individual wellness mandate, which would require students to complete an online wellness education module or visit a wellness counselor at least once during their academic career. Smart Phone Application University E s wellness center is developing an iphone application, which will allow students to view all wellness center services, including financial wellness resources The Advisory Board Company 7

8 IV. CONTENT DELIVERY: COUNSELING AND WORKSHOPS Financial counseling or mentoring is one of the most common program offering among contact institutions; six contact institutions provide some sort of counseling program. University A offers peer counseling in addition to its for-credit personal finance course and University B offers professional counseling. The other four contact institutions offer a combination of professional counseling and peer counseling. Financial Counseling An overview of financial counseling programs at contact institutions is provided below. Institution University A University D University E University F University G Peer Counseling Programs at Contact Institutions Program Description Staffing: 6 counselors Qualifications: Organization A financial education certificate is required; prospective mentors must complete 50-question tests before and after Organization A education to assess improvement. Compensation: None Staffing: 3 counselors Qualifications: 10-week training program in financial education and counseling principles Duties: Peer counselors provide general money management information and help students develop an individualized plan for personal finance improvements. Plans include short-, medium-, and long-term budget goals as well as tasks lists, notes, and a budgeting worksheet. Compensation: $9 per hour Staffing: Varies between 4 and 15 counselors per term Qualifications: Flexible training regimen that requires counselors to shadow veteran counselors and perform mock sessions until they feel adequately prepared. Duties: Peer counselors present general money management topics. Compensation: None Staffing: 3 active counselors, 1 in training Qualifications: Six-week training program covering financial education topics, laws and regulations, and counseling techniques. Educators must also earn a financial education certificate through the non-profit Institute for Financial Literacy. Duties: Peer counselors present general money management topics. Compensation: $9.50 per hour. Staffing: 2 counselors Duties: Peer counselors typically perform administrative duties rather than counseling. In fall 2011, one mentor maintained a Blackboard community for coaching, and other supervised the program s Facebook page. Compensation: None 2011 The Advisory Board Company 8

9 IV. CONTENT DELIVERY: COUNSELING AND WORKSHOPS Financial Counseling (Cont.) Institution University B University D University E University F University G Professional Counseling Programs at Contact Institutions Program Description Staffing: 2 counselors Qualifications: Counselors possess a Master s of Family and Consumer Sciences in Family Financial Planning, though the degree is not necessarily a required qualification. Duties: Counselors address topics including basic budgeting, student loan repayment, credit, and taxes. Sessions are by appointment only and span one hour. Staffing: 4 staff total (director, assistant director, two counselors) Qualifications: No educational requirements listed in job description. Duties: General money management training described in peer duties above Staffing: 5 counselors, but currently no full-time financial education specialist Staffing: 2 counselors (includes director and program coordinator) Qualifications: Counselors hold Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF) certifications from the Institute for Financial Literacy. Counselors are currently pursuing an Accredited Financial Counselor certification from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning (AFCPE) Duties: Professional counselors provide one-on-one counseling and lead workshops. In , professionals completed 196 counseling appointments and 186 workshops and events. Staffing: 1 full-time counselor plus a business school professor, who provides counseling support Duties: Counselors address general budgeting issues with their clients Advantages of Peer versus Professional Advising Models The reported effectiveness of peer and professional counselors varies across contact institutions, but contacts report both have several consistent advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of Peer Counseling Communications Skills: Contacts at University D and University F report that peers communicate better with advisees, who sometimes request to see a peer counselor. Contacts at both institutions report that peers perform between 33 and 38 percent of consultations. Advantages of Professional Counseling Experience: Professionals are typically equipped with more experience and with more robust training. At University B, administrators discontinued the peer counseling program because training peer counselors consumed professionals time and the program s resources without yielding peer counselors as effective as professional counselors. Professional Development: Contacts at University D, University F, and Organization A Maturity: Contacts at University F, University E, note that skills training in counseling and and University B suggest that non-traditional leadership can improve peers standing in the students and advisees of any age with serious job market, increasing the pedagogical value of financial problems feel more comfortable peer 2011 counseling. The Advisory Board Company approaching professional advisors. 9

10 IV. CONTENT DELIVERY: COUNSELING AND WORKSHOPS Co-Curricular Workshops All profiled institutions except University A offer non-credit-bearing workshops, presentations, or seminars. Workshop Content Workshop Frequency and Attendance at Select Institutions Institution Workshops Per Year Approximate Annual Attendance University B 50 2,800--2,900 University D 75 7,500 University F 261 Unavailable Workshop topics vary across contact institutions. At University B, workshops are offered on standard personal finance topics, like budgeting and credit, but at University D, workshops are based on topics that arise in one-on-one student counseling. Peer educators and full-time staff lead workshops at University D and University F; conversely, at University E, University B, and University C full-time, professional staff lead workshops. Below is an overview of workshop activity and attendance at select institutions. Season-Themed Content Contacts at University F report season-themed programming draws more interest than standard topic introductions. For example, educators offer a budgeting workshop themed around holiday gift-buying every November. First-Year Focused Programs First Year Success Series: a collection of 200 workshops offered every fall through University E s student wellness center. Because first-year students are presented with a myriad of introductory workshops, contacts suggest building workshops into existing programs, first year seminars, and other activities first years must attend. Dedicated Session in First-Year Seminar Series: At University D, first-year seminar instructors dedicate one session to financial education. Funny Money Lecture during New Student Orientation: The wellness center at University C and the student services department sponsor comedian James Cunningham and his Funny Money lecture during first-year orientation. Funny Money introduces students to personal finance concepts through stand-up comedy and audience participation. Contacts at University C report roughly 50 percent of the first-year class attended Cunningham s lecture in fall Attendance To combat declining attendance, contacts at University D recommend offering workshops around specific and compelling topics rather than basic budgeting or credit management. Additionally, contacts University B, observe that financial education coordinators now present only at the invitation of other campus or academic organizations, a strategy that ensures the sponsoring organization will recruit its members to attend The Advisory Board Company 10

11 V. ONLINE TOOLS Financial education programs across profiled instituions feature a variety of online tools, which range from static resources to interactive games, and are described below. Learning Modules and Courses Online Video Workshop and Game Tool at University F Ten online e-modules on standard financial literacy topics include videos of actors talking about financial concepts. After students complete the e-modules, they may test their knowledge through an online game modeled after the board game Life. Both the e-modules and the game are offered in an asynchronous format, so students may study at their own pace. Development: The program was created by EverFi, an educational software developer, and HigherOne, a financial aid services provider. It was branded and named specifically by University F, which served as a pilot institution for the program. Internally Developed Online Course at University B University B offers a one-credit personal finance course that contains 15 interactive e-modules which students may access at their convenience. To pass from module to the next, a student must complete a quiz with a score of at least 80 percent. Contacts report that students requested a flexible course schedule, and, as a result, the course may be completed either over a full semester or during half of a semester. Development: Course was developed internally. Financial Football at University E Online Games Players in this online game manage a mock football game, the results of which are determined by the player s answers to financial literacy questions. During each down of the football game, a student may choose from among three plays, each of which corresponds to a finance question of a certain difficulty. Correctly answering a more difficult question leads to a more successful play. Contacts refer students to the game and maintain that the game is a good way to reach student athletes. Development: Financial Football was developed by Visa and the National Football League and offered free through Visa s Practical Money Skills for Life website. Static Online Resources CashCourse at University E and University F Administrators at University E and University F refer students to CashCourse, a series of online articles and videos organized according to the following topic titles: financial basis, paying for college, college life, world of work, and economic survival tips. Students navigate the materials at their own pace. The site also includes an online budget management tool called Budget Wizard. Contacts at University F recommend CashCourse as a strong resource for a new financial wellness program. Development: CashCourse was developed by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and is available online free of charge The Advisory Board Company 11

12 V. ONLINE TOOLS Static Online Resources (Cont.) Collection of Research Resources at University C University C offers a collection of financial education research organized according to four categories o o o o Basic budgeting Healthy credit habits Savings & investing Advertising Each module includes articles and data on subtopics (e.g., ingenious ways to save or the persuasive effects of advertising). The project website also includes PowerPoint presentations and links to other financial education websites. Development: The program was created as a joint venture between the health services division and the university s cooperative extension program. The university s parents association provided initial funding for the project The Advisory Board Company 12

13 VI. FUNDING AND BUDGETS Funding Sources Contacts present funding sources for financial education programs: student services fee, university partner departments, and external grants. Student Fees Student ID Fee Student Health Fee University F s financial education program draws 100 percent of its funding from the university s annual student ID fee. Financial education programs receive $5 of the total fee for each student, the equivalent of one-third of the total ID fee. The general student services fee provides funding for 100 percent of the costs of the financial education program. Contacts report that each student will contribute $7.90 to University D financial education over the course of their careers. Student Services Fee The University C s wellness center, including its financial wellness component, draws 100 percent of its funding from the university s student health services fee. The fee was set at $577 per year for Money from the health fee also funds student health insurance, psychological counseling, and other services. University Partner Departments Student Government Association College of Business The financial counseling clinic at University B is funded entirely from a student government appropriation. The clinic s budget totals $90,000 per year for staff and supplies. Its office space is provided by the College of Human Services. At University A, the College of Business supports the financial wellness initiative, and the staff consists of full-time business college faculty whose contracts stipulate that they dedicate one-quarter of their time to teaching financial literacy. Wellness Center, Funded by Central Budget The student wellness center at University E houses financial education and receives its funding from the university general fund. Contacts report that the center is exploring external funding options, including a potential credit card affinity agreement. External Grants Contacts at University G report that the university s financial education program received two $25,000- grants from Bank of America to promote financial literacy and one $60,000 grant from its state s government. Sample Operating Budgets Approximate Annual Operating Budgets of Select Financial Education Programs University F $88,000 University D $276,500 University B $90, The Advisory Board Company 13

14 VII. ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE Program Assessment Student Satisfaction Surveys According to contacts at three of seven profiled institutions, student satisfaction surveys are distributed in paper form immediately after a staff interaction or retroactively by . Paper Surveys at University F At University F, students fill out a survey card after meeting with a counselor or attending a workshop. Survey questions include three to four questions based on a Likert scale and several open-ended shortanswer questions. Each survey also asks if the respondent would attend another event or counseling session. Sample survey questions are outlined below. Likert-Scale Questions: o How would you evaluate the program/consultation overall? o How would you evaluate the speaker/counselor? o How informative was your counseling session/the program/the presentation? o How convenient was the time of the program? Short Answer Questions: o Name one thing you learned from the program/speaker/counselor. o How could we improve the event? / How could the counselor improve the counseling session? o Please provide general comments about the event/counseling session/speaker. Online Surveys at University B Program coordinators at University B an online satisfaction survey to students who have met with professional counselors; the survey includes eight multiple-choice questions about the counseling experience, four of which include rating scales for the quality of services. Additionally, the survey prompts participants to rate financial stress level on a scale of 1 to10 both before and after the session. Behavioral Outcomes Self Assessment At University G, financial counselors encourage students to set objectives for financial competence and measure their progress against these objectives. During counseling sessions, students complete a savings goals worksheet. After establishing goals, it is the student s responsibility to track his or her savings The Advisory Board Company 14

15 VII. ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE Program Assessment (Cont.) Additional Metrics for Program Success Contacts recommend the following metrics assess student outcomes and program effectiveness: Retention & Graduation Rates and Indebtedness Academic Achievement Number of Visits Contacts at University A have collected retention rates, time to graduation, and overall indebtedness of all participants in the university s for-credit financial education course. To evaluate the course s effectiveness, educators plan to compare these data against the university s general student population data. Administrators at University D reportedly plan to track student attendance in workshops and counseling sessions by requiring students to swipe their ID card whenever they participate in a counseling session or workshop, thus logging a visit. Additionally, contacts are interested in correlating financial education to academic performance. Participation rates in financial education sessions could then be correlated with academic performance on an individual level. (Contacts indicate that students with sound financial management skills can better focus on academics.) Contacts at University F advise the use of a digital scheduling program specialized for counseling centers. University F utilizes Titanium Schedule, which tracks how often a student utilizes financial counseling, what sort of counselor (peer or professional) they visit, preferred topics and other demographic information. Contacts note the software is customizable and could conceivably be used to track more specific data, e.g., how well a student has kept a budget over time. Implementation and Guidance Seek Grant Funding after Establishing a Program According to contacts Organization A, private grants are difficult for new programs to secure because granting organizations typically seek applicants that have demonstrated cross-department collaboration and budgetary sustainability. Additionally, contacts at University F note that donors also support programs with robust assessment data that a new program may not be able to provide. Furthermore, external grants do not offer a sustainable source of funding. Similarly, contacts at University D note that grants are most useful for funding program expansion and advise requesting a funding commitment from a general revenue source (e.g., student services fee). Secure a Champion to Achieve Support in the Administration Several contacts note that a champion for financial education, whether a professor or administrator can spark enthusiasm about a new program among university administrators. Having at least one full-time staff member advocating for a financial wellness program increases the likelihood of securing university funding, according to contacts at University B, Organization A, and University A. Involve Constituents across Campus University E contacts explain that a new program can also benefit from the involvement of a variety of departments across campus, thereby securing broad support for the new program The Advisory Board Company 15

16 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES NOTE The Advisory Board has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to its members. This project relies on data obtained from many sources, however, and The Advisory Board cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information or its analysis in all cases. Further, The Advisory Board is not engaged in rendering clinical, legal, accounting, or other professional services. Its projects should not be construed as professional advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. Members are advised to consult with their staff and senior management, or other appropriate professionals, prior to implementing any changes based on this project. Neither The Advisory Board Company nor its programs are responsible for any claims or losses that may arise from any errors or omissions in their projects, whether caused by the Advisory Board Company or its sources. November 2011 The Advisory Board Company, 2445 M Street, N.W., Washington, DC Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the Advisory Board Company. This prohibition extends to sharing this publication with clients and/or affiliate companies. All rights reserved The Advisory Board Company 16