Money can be a scary topic for students, and the University of Indianapolis’ financial aid office leaned into this fear by creating a personal finance-themed haunted house. This past fall, they held their second annual Financial Literacy Haunted House. This event was wildly popular with students and helped them get comfortable with the financial aid office and diffuse the stress surrounding money management. CashCourse spoke with Lezza Harman-Lineback, the adult client services specialist at the financial aid department, to learn more about this Halloween event. Learn more about the University of Indianapolis. »
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University’s Student Money Management Center offers a variety of services to its students, including making certified financial counselors available for one-on-one meetings. Lupita Hernandez, a program coordinator at the SMMC, wanted to make sure they were also reaching SHSU’s online students and those who attend classes off the main campus. It was more challenging for these students to visit the SMMC and receive the available resources. To help reach these students, the SHSU center put together a scholarship contest using CashCourse online coursework modules. Learn more about Sam Houston State University.»
Kent State University
Kent State University’s leaders wanted to enrich their financial literacy offerings, so they hired a graduate assistant dedicated solely to the cause. The result is a robust, cross-campus financial education program. Led by University Bursar Stina Olafsdottir, and Alex Sommer, the financial education graduate assistant, their programming continues to evolve and adjust as needed. Learn more about their work at Kent State.»
University of Central Florida
At the University of Central Florida, Paul Gregg’s personal finance class draws students from all across campus. As the assistant chair and director of the finance department at the Dr. Phillips School of Real Estate, Gregg began teaching financial literacy at UCF in 2002. Starting with just two sections as an adjunct, Gregg’s class has grown to about 500 students each term. Gregg estimates he has worked with about 11,000 students since starting. Read more about what makes this personal finance class so popular. Read more about the University of Central Florida. »
Northern Virginia Community College
At Northern Virginia Community College, a system with more than 75,000 students, financial literacy has purposely been coupled with default prevention in a robust, varied initiative. Clint Young, a work-study, financial literacy, and default prevention coordinator, has helped lead these efforts to better empower NOVA students’ financial decision making. Serving a diverse student body, Young employs online activities, in-person presentations, classroom application and financial coaching to teach financial literacy. Read more about Northern Virginia Community College. »
Madonna University
Madonna University, a liberal arts university in Livonia, MI, has been embracing CashCourse and technology. With a robust financial literacy program, they use several different digital platforms to reach students. Student workers have developed Blackboard modules using CashCourse content to seamlessly integrate financial education into their existing learning management system. They have also created financial education videos to reach fellow students. As a recipient of the CashCourse fall 2015 reimbursement program, they were selected as the Best Digital Program for the Fall 2015 cycle. Read more about Madonna University.»
Solano Community College
Solano Community College was selected as CashCourse’s fall 2015 “Best Community College” through our Reimbursement Program. Solano has been a strong CashCourse school since 2014 and has truly created a campus culture of financial literacy. Led by the efforts of Robin Darcangelo and Tracy Gross, they have created cross-campus partnerships and kept financial education fun for students. Read more about Solano Community College. »
Martin Luther College
Martin Luther College has made a clear commitment to financial education for their students. Led by a dedicated financial literacy coordinator, their programming consists of one-on-one meetings, online activities, and information sessions. With a special focus on reaching students at key points in their lives, MLC is creating a campus culture of financial literacy. Learn more about Martin Luther College. »
Allegany College of Maryland
After several years of running a fall workshop series, Tara DeVore wanted to switch things up with financial literacy at Allegany College of Maryland. Finding inspiration from another CashCourse Reimbursement Program recipient, she planned a Cash Carnival for fall 2015. This event combines community partnerships, cross-campus collaboration, and student-led programming. Read more about Allegany College of Maryland. »
The University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming, a spring 2015 recipient of the CashCourse Reimbursement Program, stood out thanks to their student-led financial literacy campaign. Aaron Courtney, the assistant manager of financial services, helped create and empower the Student Financial Wellness Committee. This group of student leaders planned and implemented activities designed to promote financial education. Their innovative approach reflected the unique perspective of a college student and worked to truly engage the campus. Read more about the University of Wyoming. »
The College of Saint Scholastica
The College of Saint Scholastica is approaching student health in an innovative, holistic way. The school’s One Stop Wellness Center has identified six tenants of student overall wellbeing, including financial health. Through One Stop’s website, students can immediately access resources for each different area of student health. CashCourse is part of the school’s financial literacy programming and is used across campus. Read more about the College of Saint Scholastica. »
Wake Forest University
Every April, during National Financial Literacy Month, Wake Forest University hosts events to promote financial literacy. After an outstanding amount of Web traffic for April 2015, we sat down to learn more about their programming. CashCourse is housed in several different departments and administrators are continuously adapting their approach to better meet their student needs. Read more about Wake Forest University. »
Saddleback College
For the 2015 CashCourse Championship, schools competed nationwide to get the most students registered for accounts in the month of March. The final tally revealed Saddleback College to be the overall winner, earning them the $1,000 grand prize. We spoke about their efforts with Javier Williams, a financial aid specialist and the financial literacy ambassador for Saddleback College. Their approach combines cross-campus partnerships, multiple points of outreach, and a passion for financial capability. Read more about Saddleback College. »
The University of North Texas
In the fall 2014 semester, University of North Texas launched a highly successful three-stage program incorporating campus partnerships, student leadership, and customized engagement strategies. This program, called the CashCourse Tour de Money, targeted first year and commuter students with activities specifically designed to reach them. Read more about UNT’s CashCourse Tour de Money. »
The University of Akron
Tanya Lundy, assistant director of student financial aid at the University of Akron, submitted a CashCourse Reimbursement Program application for her campus. The Akron application was approved during the fall 2014 cycle and Lundy’s campaign managed to stand out among a very impressive group of award recipients. For the duration of the cycle, the University of Akron’s CashCourse site had more than 1,500 visitors, with each visitor spending an average of 10 minutes using the site. This strong student engagement was secured through a partnership between Lundy and the university's first year experience course. Read more about the University of Akron. »
Linn-Benton Community College
Linn-Benton Community College, of Linn County, Ore., had nearly 30 percent of its student population visit CashCourse last November. This phenomenal student engagement was reached by embedding CashCourse into two important campus-wide campaigns: Linn-Benton's default management strategy, and its Destination Graduation coursework for first-year students. Read about Linn-Benton Community College. »
University of Kansas
"You have to get students to understand their behavior before you can talk about money. You have to talk about both," explains Leticia Gradington, director of student money management services at the University of Kansas. Gradington and her team are showing students how financial literacy is relevant to them today. Read more about the University of Kansas' successful financial wellness campaign. »
Brescia University
Dolores Kiesler, student support services director at Brescia University in Owensboro, KY, brought creativity and patience to the planning process for her financial literacy programming. By making it as easy as possible to get students on CashCourse, she found they often took it from there. She used out-of-the-box thinking to engage faculty in incorporating CashCourse into the classroom. Read more about how Kiesler's strategic planning process led to a successful financial literacy campaign. »
The College of William and Mary
Exciting things are happening at the College of William and Mary. Amy Sikes, assistant director of financial aid, is capitalizing on an opportunity to engage students with financial literacy by partnering with the First Year Experience office, which incorporates CashCourse into new student programming. Since May, the school's CashCourse site has averaged 700 visitors each month. Read more about the College of William and Mary. »
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
"A lot of students who come to our school are first-generation students. College is their first opportunity, and really it's their first job," says Samuel Lopez, coordinator of Jay Express Services at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. "They might get a paycheck from work study, and they don’t know how to budget or save it; students can end up living from paycheck to paycheck." Read more about John Jay College. »
Itawamba Community College
There are many good times to teach students about personal finance, but building money skills into a first-year experience class can equip students with a few essential lessons as they start college. Marty Cooper, Director of the PACE (Preparing and Advancing for College Excellence) program at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss., teaches one such course, and he uses CashCourse as part of his curriculum on personal finance. Read more of Itawamba Community College’s story. »