Diploma

&

Opportunities to Improve 

the Financial Capability

and Financial Well-Being

of Postsecondary Students

Submitted by

The U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission

Updated 2016

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission
This report was prepared by the US Department of the Treasury on behalf of the Financial 

Literacy and Education Commission. The report is based in part on research and analysis conducted by the Urban Institute for the US Department of the Treasury.
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Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Section I. Choosing Where to Go and How to Finance Postsecondary Education . . . . . . . . . . 

Section II. Making Sound Financial Decisions While Enrolled in College and Beyond . . . . . 

Section III. Conclusions and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Appendix A. Financial Education Programs & Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Appendix B. Interviewees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Appendix C. Federal Student Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

2

INTRODUCTION

Postsecondary education is essential to the economic 

health of our nation and to the economic opportunity of many Americans. Despite the importance of

attaining postsecondary education, the cost of higher 

education may prevent some students and families—

especially those from low- and middle-income households—from obtaining it. Students and families make

important financial decisions regarding higher education, including whether to go to college, where and 

what types of institutions they should apply to, what 

college to attend, and how to pay for their education

The choices they face are complex, and, for millions 

of students, financing higher education involves taking on debt, especially federal student loans. In addition to making choices about college

 and how to pay 

for it, young adults make a number of other important financial decisions during college—from opening 

a bank account to using credit cards to making a variety 

of spending decisions—often for the first time, making 

college an important opportunity to address the financial capability of students and their families. The number and complexity of these decisions underscores the

need and provides an important “teachable moment” 

to increase the financial capability of young people 

by equipping them with the information, resources 

and tools they need to make sound financial decisions before, during, and after college. Building financial capability is an important strategy for promoting

not only college access and completion, but also lifelong financial health. Non-traditional students, including working adults, face many similar challenges and

opportunities in navigating higher education decisions, 

as well as additional challenges in managing their more 

complex financial lives

1 In this report, we use the terms college, higher education, and 

postsecondary education interchangeably, and are intended to include a 

range of postsecondary educational institutions, including all programs 

eligible to accept and distribute Title IV or Federal Student Aid, including 

less-than-two-, two- and four-year programs

The link between education and economic mobility is clear. Children born in bottom quartile of the

income distribution have a four times greater likelihood of moving into the top quintile if they have a college degree (Haskins et al. 2009). Yet the cost of college and the amount of student loan debt have rise

substantially in recent years. As of the end of March

2015, outstanding federal student loan debt stood at 

over $1.1 trillion and there were more than 41 million federal student loan borrowers (U.S. Departme

of Education 2015). In addition, while the vast majority of outstanding student loan debt is for federal loans,

many borrowers also have a significant amount of private student loan debt. According to a November 2014

report, nearly 70 percent of graduating seniors from 

public and private nonprofit colleges in 2013 had federal student loan debt that averaged $28,400. Evidence

also suggests that bachelor’s degree recipients from 

for-profit colleges are even more likely to have loans 

and higher debt balances on average (The Project on 

Student Debt 2014)

High levels of student debt can hamper recent graduates as they start their adult lives and careers, influence 

their choice of job, location, or the decision to pursue 

further education (Asher 2009). At the same time, student loans are a vital source of financing for students

looking to pursue higher education and, if managed 

appropriately, student loan debt is generally a worthwhile investment that enables individuals to receive 

the skills and training they need to be competitive in a 

dynamic global economy

In addition to decisions about paying for higher education, students face other financial choices while in 

college, such as deciding whether to take on consumer 

debt as well as selecting and managing transaction 

account products. As students leave college and transition to the workplace, they are faced with a series of
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Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

important financial decisions on everything from budgeting to securing health insurance to saving for retirement. Possessing the skills, information, and tools necessary to make effective financial decisions will help to

ensure that young people are able to make the right 

decisions before and after college so that they can 

begin to build their financial futures

To address these needs, this report has been prepared 

by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission 

according to Section 1042 of the Higher Education 

Opportunity Act of 2008 and describes the state of 

financial education among students at covered educational institutions. The report describes current efforts

to enhance financial education in a number of institutions with respect to student understanding of financial aid, along with other financial education topics at 

two critical junctures: 

• Choosing Where to Go and How to Finance 

Postsecondary Education; and

• Making Sound Financial Decisions When 

Enrolled and Beyond

The body of the report describes issues in those two 

areas and policies and resources to address them

Further, in developing this report, we sought to identify programs that promote or enhance financial literacy for students, including those that involve partnerships between nonprofit organizations. Appendix A

details a number of financial education programs and 

resources that hold promise for effectiveness and notes 

instances where programs have been evaluated and can 

demonstrate measurable results

Young people should be equipped with the skills and 

information they need to make sound financial choices

This report focuses on opportunities to improve 

financial readiness through postsecondary education. This report documents existing strategies and

tools employed by the federal government to improve 

student understanding of student debt. This includes

understanding financial aid and their obligations and 

rights as student loan borrowers, as well as other financial decisions made by students. Additionally, the report

describes the activities of a number of higher education 

institutions and certain other entities, with a particular focus on the direct efforts of colleges and universities to provide financial education and counseling to 

currently enrolled students (Section II and Appendix 

A). The report concludes with a series of recommendations for how institutions of higher education can better equip students to make critical financial decision

The Commission hopes and anticipates that higher 

education institutions and other organizations will 

expand and enhance the delivery of financial education 

and financial decision-making tools and resources that 

will help students throughout their postsecondary education and into a more financially secure future
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

4

SECTION I.

C H O O S I N G W H E R E T O G O A N D H O W T O 

FINANCE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

When deciding to pursue a postsecondary education, students and their families will make a number of financial decisions that will have lasting impacts on both educational attainment and long-term financial well-being

These decisions include when and where to attend college, how much to spend, and how much to borrow for 

their higher education. The latter decisions require being

able to successfully navigate the financial aid process

Many students whose parents are not prepared to guide 

them successfully in these decisions must face financial 

aid and other choices with little support and may have 

difficulty completing the process without one-on-one 

counseling. For instance, students whose parents do not

speak English or who live in households without Internet 

access may struggle to navigate the financial aid process (Burdman 2005) and would benefit from additional 

guidance. Understanding the cost of college and available aid also makes a significant difference in choosing

a college. For many students, the annual sticker price of

attending an institution appears much higher than the net 

price, which is the amount a student pays for an academic 

year after accounting for aid that a student does not need 

to pay back (which includes grants and scholarships)

Studies show that many families overestimate college 

costs and are therefore less likely to send a child to college

This may be especially true for low-income students, who 

are already more likely than their upper-income peers to 

be pessimistic about their ability to pay for college (Avery 

and Kane 2004; Dynarski and Scott-Clayton 2008). For

those attending college, recent research also suggests that 

most full-time, first-year, undergraduate students inaccurately estimate how much student debt they have, with 

approximately half of students substantially underestimating and roughly a quarter of students overestimating 

their student debt (Akers and Chingos, 2014)

Policies and Resources to Help 

Students Make Decisions on 

College Choice and Financing

Given the implications of postsecondary education 

financing for individual financial well-being in the 

short- and long-term, providing families with timely 

and accurate information, along with tools and guidance for navigating the financial aid process, is critical

Detailed below are a number of federal tools available 

to students and families. Many of these tools have been

developed and enhanced in the last several years. They

are designed to create more transparency in the higher 

education marketplace and to help students find programs and financing that best meet their needs, and 

better understand both their rights and their obligations as student loan borrowers

Tools for Navigating the College 

Search and Decision-Making Process

College Scorecard. In 2015, the U.S. Department o

Education released a redesigned College Scorecard, 

built with direct input from students, families, and 

their advisers. It provides clear, accessible, and reliable

national data to help them make informed decisions 

about where to enroll in higher education. The College

Scorecard provides key indicators about college costs, 

graduation, and post-college earnings of institutions 

across the country to help students select a college 

that is priced affordably and is consistent with their 

educational and career goals. The College Scorecard

also enables individuals to choose among a number 

of options based on their own needs—including location, size, and degree and programs offered. Moreover,
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Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

the Scorecard includes critical information about college outcomes including: graduation rate, student loan 

repayment rate, average amount borrowed by graduating students, and share of former students earning 

more than the average high school graduate

Additionally, the 2015 College Scorecard release 

included new, comprehensive and updated data on 

higher education institutions, made available to the public for the first time. Because these data were published

through an open application programming interface 

(API), researchers, policymakers, and members of the 

public can customize their own analysis of college performance more quickly and easily. Already, many organizations have stepped forward to pull the Scorecard

data into their own customized tools for students

Paying for College Compare Financial Aid Offers.

In 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(CFPB) launched the Paying for College Compare 

Financial Aid Offers tool to help families decipher how 

much a college degree will actually cost and estimate how 

much a student will owe in student loans post-college

The cost comparison worksheet allows users to input 

their financial aid offers, pulls in data from the College 

Scorecard and compares up to three institutions at a time

Financial Aid Shopping Sheet. In 2012, the U.

Department of Education released the “Financial Aid 

Shopping Sheet,” which is a template for institutions to 

use to inform students of their financial aid packages

After students have been accepted into an institution, the 

Shopping Sheet provides them with a clear and comparable indication of the costs and the types of grants and 

financial aid for which the students are eligible. Since its

implementation, approximately 3,000 institutions—representing more than two-thirds of the total undergraduate population—have voluntarily adopted the forms

Net Price Calculator. The Higher Education 

Opportunity Act of 2008 requires that all colleges 

participating in federal student aid programs must post 

a net price calculator on their websites to allow students to estimate the cost of attending their institution 

(U.S. Department of Education 2011). The calculat

combines institutional data with data provided by the 

prospective student on his or her individual circumstances in order to provide a bottom-line cost on what 

a student and his or her family will have to pay in work, 

savings, and loans (that is, the full cost of attendance 

minus any grants or scholarships). Links to the Net

Price Calculator as well as the Financial Aid Shopping 

Sheet, The College Scorecard and other key comparative resources for students and families can be found 

online on the College Affordability and Transparency 

Center web portal at www.collegecost.ed.gov

Tools for Navigating Postsecondary 

Education Financing and Repayment

StudentAid.gov. In 2012, the U.S. Department o

Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid announced 

a new, streamlined website and several social media 

tools that make it easier for students and families to 

navigate the financial aid process and make informed 

decisions about paying for college. StudentAid.go

is the initial step in a multi-phase project to offer a 

“one-stop shop” where consumers can access federal 

student aid information, apply for federal aid, manage student loans and understand their rights and 

responsibilities as borrowers, as well as navigate the 

college decision-making process. Available in English

and Spanish and fully accessible on smartphones and 

tablets, the website combines content and interactive 

tools from several websites and features instructional 

videos and infographics to help answer frequent questions about financial aid. Additionally, the Department

revamped its federal student aid-related social media 

sites, including Facebook (http://www.facebook.

com/FederalStudentAid), Twitter (http://twitter.com/

FAFSA), and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/federalstudentaid), to provide more options for students to 
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

6

learn about student aid. Among the resources available

on StudentAid.gov are: 

FAFSA Completion Tool. This tool was created to help 

financial aid professionals, secondary school administrators, and other practitioners track and increase 

FAFSA completions. The tool provides every high

school in the US whose students have completed five 

or more FAFSAs with the number of submitted and 

completed applications in the current year, as well as 

comparison information from previous years as available. By posting FAFSA submission and completion

totals weekly, counselors and administrators will have 

access to current data to more accurately gauge the 

impact of outreach efforts and identify successful local 

strategies. Data for the high school graduating class of

2015 is now available on StudentAid.gov.

Repayment Estimator. The Department of Education’s 

Repayment Estimator provides borrowers with a comparison of estimated monthly payment amounts for all 

federal student loan repayment plans, including plans 

where borrowers’ monthly payments are based on their 

income. Federal student loan borrowers can choose to

login to the Repayment Estimator to receive personalized estimates of their monthly federal student loan 

payments, projected loan forgiveness, total interest 

and amounts paid, the length of the repayment period 

under various repayment plans. Borrowers can also enter

estimated data without signing in to the Repayment 

Estimator to compare the various repayment plans

Simplified Financial Aid Application. The Free 

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the application that all students applying for federal aid must complete, has been simplified in response to criticism that it 

was overly complex and lengthy. These changes, which

apply to the online application used by almost all applicants, were put into place in 2009 and early 2010. They

included the following: instant estimates of Pell Grant 

and federal student loan eligibility, fewer and less onerous 

questions, and allowing students to download their tax 

data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) into the 

form directly (U.S. Department of Education 200

Past research has found that the complexity of the 

FAFSA rivaled that of the federal tax form (Dynarski 

and Scott-Clayton 2008). Data from the U

Department of Education indicates that, following the 

recent changes, the FAFSA now takes only an average 

of 20 minutes to complete. As a result, the number of

students who successfully completed the FAFSA form 

has increased by more than 30 percent since 2009. (U

Department of Education 2013). Applicants can now

also receive an online estimate of the size of their aid 

package (Marini, 2015)

Other resources include:

Financial Awareness Counseling Tool (FACT). A new 

online, interactive loan counseling tool, FACT (https://

studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/financialAwarenessCounseling.action) aims to help students and families 

to better manage their finances and understand their 

obligations and rights as borrowers. By featuring personalized information about students’ debt, budgetary

and financial templates, and information on all aspects 

of the loan process, FACT has been designed to be 

educational yet engaging

Financial Aid Toolkit. The U.S. Department o

Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid launched 

(December 2013) an online “one-stop shop” toolkit 

aimed at guidance counselors and other advisers, such 

as mentors or volunteers at community-based organizations, who assist students through the process of selecting and financing their higher education. The Financial

Aid Toolkit available at FinancialAidToolkit.ed.gov consolidates financial aid resources into a searchable online 

database, making it easy for individuals to quickly access 

the information they need to support their students. The

searchable library provides information covering the 
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Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

entire financial aid lifecycle from applying for financial 

aid to repaying loans and includes items such as financial 

aid night presentations, brochures, videos, and sample 

tweets and Facebook posts. It also offers training opportunities and resources for self-instruction. The toolkit i

an easy-to-use resource that was developed in response 

to requests from the financial aid and college counselor 

community. By equipping counselors and mentors with

financial aid information in an easy-to-use format, the 

U.S. Department of Education can help to ensure current and potential students are getting the assistanc

they need to successfully navigate the process of planning and paying for a postsecondary education

Other Federal Policies and Resources 

CFPB’s Private Student Loan Ombudsman. The 

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act established a private student loan 

ombudsman within the Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau (CFPB). Pursuant to the Act, the ombudsman

prepares annual reports, which may include recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of 

the CFPB, the Secretary of Education, and Congress

The CFPB entered into a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Education t

coordinate on student loan complaints, began accepting student loan complaints at ConsumerFinance.gov in 

March 2012, and has released a number of consumer 

education tools to assist borrowers. These tools provide

borrowers with information on how to identify payment plans, determine what loans they have, and get 

out of default

U.S. Department of Education’s Student Loan 

Ombudsman. The Federal Student Aid (FSA) Student 

Loan Ombudsman was established by 1997 amendments to the Higher Education Act to help resolve 

complaints on all federal student loan programs, including Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans, 

and Perkins loans. The FSA Ombudsman assists with

informal resolution of student loan issues ranging from 

selecting an affordable repayment plan, explaining 

account balance calculations, and getting a loan out of 

default. Through a memorandum of understanding, the

FSA Ombudsman supports federal student loan customers with private loans by transmitting complaints 

from private loan customers to the CFPB. The FSA

Ombudsman issues a report annually on its activities as 

part of the annual report submitted to Congress by the 

Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid

Data and Smart Disclosure. In 2011, President Obama 

unveiled the Federal Task Force on Smart Disclosure. Its

mission was to make potentially useful government data 

available to the public in a way that would help consumers make smarter financial decisions. Better data availability should spur the development of tools and applications

that can help consumers and will also help financial institutions and other businesses better understand the needs 

of their customers. For example, one entrepreneur has created an aggregator of college’s net price calculators to help

students compare value across colleges without having to 

go to every website to access the calculator
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

8

SECTION II.

M A K I N G S O U N D F I N A N C I A L D E C I S I O N S 

WHILE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE AND BEYOND

Once enrolled, college students face many financial 

decisions with lasting consequences, yet many may not 

be equipped with the knowledge and skills they need 

to make these decisions effectively. One survey found

that students at both four- and two-year institutions 

felt less prepared to manage their money than to keep 

up with coursework, stay organized, manage time, or, 

in many cases, find the help and resources to succeed 

(Money Matters on Campus 2015). The financial capability and well-being of college students matter, for

the likelihood both of earning a degree and of achieving financial security after graduation. Higher education institutions and their partners have the ability to

substantially impact students by helping them make 

more informed financial choices while in college and 

by better preparing students for post-college decisions 

such as employment, managing debt and expenses, and 

starting to plan, save, and invest for the future

Financial Capability and Student Success. Research 

indicates that financial capability and positive academic outcomes are often correlated. College students

who exhibit positive financial behaviors perform better 

academically (Xiao, Tang and Shim 2009). Shim, Xiao,

and colleagues (2009) surveyed 781 college students 

and found that student debt is related to academic performance. Moreover, a number of studies have found

that college students’ financial well-being is positively 

correlated with academic progress, mental and physical well-being, and the ability to find employment 

after graduation (Adams and Moore 2007; Bodvarsson 

and Walker 2004; Cude et al. 2006; Lyons 2003, 2004;

Shim, Xiao, et al. 2009). For example, one in three students reports his/her financial situation is “likely” o

“somewhat likely” to affect their ability to complete a 

college degree (Lyons 2003). In addition, large amounts

of debt accumulated in college may contribute to academic failure (Parks-Yancy, DiTomaso and Post 2007) 

as well as future financial hardship (Roberts and Jones 

2001). Higher rates of financial literacy can also lower

college dropout rates (Lyons 2003) and promote timely 

payment and management of tuition

Supporting Lifelong Financial Capability. Colleges 

and universities have incentives to produce alumni who 

are successful in their careers, reflect well on their universities, and repay student loans (which helps to lower 

an institution’s cohort default rate and maintain its eligibility for federal financial aid). Improving the financially capability of students while they are enrolled can

help students achieve success both during and after 

graduation. While in college, students should develop

sound financial practices that will set them up for effective personal financial management when they leave 

college. Institutions of higher education can encourage this development by offering financial education

and counseling resources, especially education that 

focuses on such relevant topics as budgeting and managing student debt. Examples include entrance and exit

counseling for student loans, offering classes in personal financial management, and promoting a culture 

on campus that values responsible financial decisionmaking and discourages excessive spending in order to 

fit in. Students may be particularly interested in programs that help students navigate the financial aid process and programs that focus on improving the shortand long-term costs associated with education loans

and other debt assumed while in college, their repayment obligations, and their protections as borrowers

Financial education programs, one-on-one counseling, 
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Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

and innovative personal financial management tools 

can help equip students and graduates with information and skills to effectively manage their finances 

while in college and manage repayment of their student loans once they have left

Financial Decisions Facing 

Currently Enrolled Students

Decisions about financial aid are only one aspect of 

financial capability for college students. College is

often the first time that young people make financial 

decisions on their own, including those about housing, discretionary spending, banking, and the use of 

consumer credit. These decisions and the habits that

are developed not only affect students while in college, 

but have implications for their ability to repay student 

loans and begin building assets once they leave college

Some young adults enter college without ever having 

been responsible for their own personal finances, yet 

once enrolled they are left to navigate a complex financial world on their own. Non-traditional students may

be more likely to have some experience managing their 

finances, but still face many of the same financial decisions while in college

How much to work. Many students need to work while 

attending college. Students must balance the need

to earn money for college expenses against the class 

schedule constraints and time commitment required 

for academic success. In addition, some decisions

for example, how much to work—may be of particular 

importance to part-time students or community college students, given that 59 percent of students at twoyear institutions attend on a part-time basis compared 

to 23 percent of students at four-year institutions as 

of fall 2012 (National Center for Education Statistics, 

Characteristics of Postsecondary Students)

Public Agenda (2009) surveyed more than 600 adults 

age 22 to 30 and found that, among those who started 

college but did not complete a degree, the primary reason for leaving was that they found balancing work and 

school too stressful. For many working students, the

decision regarding how much to work may also affect 

how many courses they take in a semester, potentially 

influencing not just how much the student may take 

out in loans, but also how long it takes them to graduate and how soon they are able to participate in the 

workforce and earn money after graduation

How much to spend and the value of budgeting. 

Students have many expenses associated with college 

and moving away from home, such as renting an apartment, purchasing or leasing a car, buying books and 

supplies, and traveling home. The size and nature of

these expenses will vary depending on a number of factors, including whether students attend college at or 

near their home communities. Students may not be

accustomed to keeping a budget and may come from 

households where budgeting is not a priority (Mandell 

2008). Colleges and universities can help students

make better decisions about how much to spend by 

offering classes in personal finance and by providing 

counselors and resource centers to help guide students 

to better financial management. Resources on student

budgeting can be found at www.studentaid.ed.gov/sa/

prepare-for-college/budgeting

How to manage credit cards. Increased use of credit 

cards by college students has generated a concern 

among many that credit card debt puts college students 

at greater risk for financial problems after graduation 

(Cude et al. 2006). Credit cards are a major source o

debt among college students and credit card debt is 

linked to increased stress and anxiety, which in turn has 

consequences for academic performance and long-term 

financial health (Adams and Moore 2007; Bodvarsson 

and Walker 2004; Cude et al. 2006; Lyons 2003, 2004;

Shim, Xiao, et al. 2009). According to a 2012 Salli

Mae report on undergraduate students’ credit card use, 

about 35 percent of undergraduate students used a 
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

10

credit card. Of those with a card, the average balance

was $755 and approximately two-thirds report carrying a balance on their card (Sallie Mae)

How to use a bank or credit union account. Along 

with managing student loan disbursements, many students will make their first decisions about a transaction 

(checking) account to use for their regular expenses

Students may have an array of choices from large banks, 

to community-based banks and credit unions, to prepaid debit cards (which may be tied to their student 

ID), without much guidance on how to make the best 

selection. The CFPB has indicated that while many

such products offered have the imprimatur of the college or university, such products may not be better than 

other options which may offer more attractive features 

like automatic reimbursement of fees charged by thirdparty operated ATMs; nevertheless many students may 

believe that a university-branded product is their best 

or only choice for such services (Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau 2014). The CFPB has also noted

that many of these agreements between financial institutions and higher education institutions are not disclosed, and that increased transparency may be helpful to students in making their decisions (Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau 2014). The CFPB has

also developed on-line information to help students 

navigate these choices on www.consumerfinance.gov/

paying-for-college

Managing household finances (for adult students). 

Adult, non-traditional students may face additional 

financial decisions while attending college, whether fullor part-time. These students may be looking to increase

their earnings in their current field of employment, or 

gain skills to find a new job. Adult students, especially

those who are parents, will need to manage other household expenses, including childcare, housing, and family 

needs, and may need guidance on how to access benefits and other resources to help them meet existing 

needs while obtaining their advanced education. For

these students, many of whom are students at community colleges, financial education and support that helps 

them address family support needs will enable them to 

more successfully complete their education, and attain 

a career (Working Families Success Strategy College 

Implementation Guide 2013)

Financial Decisions Facing 

Recent Graduates

How to Effectively Manage Student Loan Debt. 

Recent graduates or students who have separated 

from their postsecondary institution without earning 

a degree will find themselves entering the student loan 

repayment phase. Managing student loan debt can be

complicated. Some students have both federal and private loans, and each loan may come with different benefits and protections that can be confusing to the borrower. Borrowers may have multiple loans distribute

to different servicers, so they need to contact more 

than one entity to manage their loans. Delinquent and

defaulted loans can damage a person’s credit and so it 

is critical that borrowers understand all of their options 

and responsibilities once they leave college

How to Manage Salary and Benefits and Plan for the 

Future. Graduates entering the workforce will face 

a number of important decisions for the first time, 

including critical decisions about employment benefits, 

saving for retirement, managing current expenses such 

as living expenses, and whether and how to make longterm investments such as a home purchase. Decisions

about which goals to prioritize—repayment of student 

loan or consumer debt, saving for emergencies or asset 

purchases, participation in a workplace benefits plan—

will have important implications for an individual’s 

financial trajectory

Pursuing additional postsecondary education. Some 

students who earn a degree decide to return to college 

for another, often higher-level, degree. Community
11

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

college graduates might subsequently choose to pursue a bachelor’s degree, while bachelor’s degree holders 

might decide to pursue graduate studies. In many cases,

this decision involves taking on additional student 

loans and many of the same types of financial decisions from the student’s initial postsecondary experience. While some students may be returning to college

after time in the workforce, many others face this decision prior to graduation as they weigh whether to continue their postsecondary education or move into the 

workforce

Improving the Financial Capability of 

Enrolled Students—Institutional Efforts

The literature review and interviews conducted for this 

report reveal that financial education, even among postsecondary students, is a very diverse subject, and programs 

differ in their goals and areas of focus. Ideally, a comprehensive strategy to improve financial literacy would

include programs that effectively increase knowledge, promote sound financial behaviors, and build positive financial attitudes and confidence. There is still much to learn

about what works in order to meaningfully improve existing financial capability interventions in higher education

Yet research shows that financial education for this population may improve financial knowledge. For example,

Peng and colleagues (2007) investigated the link between 

financial education and financial knowledge by looking at 

the impact of financial education delivered in high school 

and college. They found that participation in a collegelevel personal finance course was associated with higher

levels of investment knowledge. Moreover, Shim, Xiao,

and coauthors (2009) found that those who took personal 

finance and economics classes better understood financial matters. An overview of program specific evaluations

is described below

College is a formative moment in the financial lives of 

young adults and other students. The institutional context also provides a unique and important opportunity

to engage with students and help improve their financial capability and financial decision-making. Seizing

this opportunity, a range of institutions have implemented some form of financial education program 

for students. Appendix A provides a summary of several programs currently being offered, including the

curricula being used and topics covered, as well as a 

detailed discussion of ongoing efforts to evaluate their 

effectiveness

In general, the financial education programs reviewed 

for this report share a number of common features, 

regardless of whether they are made available by colleges, nonprofits, or others. Goals of financial education intervention efforts range from increasing knowledge of various financial topics to changing behavior

to promote an individual’s financial stability. Programs

engage in both prevention (e.g., teaching students ho

to avoid overspending and how to effectively manage 

credit) and intervention (e.g., identifying loan repayment plans, improving credit scores). Programs m

provide information and tools to reduce debt, build 

wealth, or both. Common financial education offerings

include:

• brochures or fact sheets with summaries of financial education topics;

• online calculators or tools to plan savings or debt 

repayment;

• presentation slides and notes; and

• links to other resources and websites

Programs associated with student loan providers and 

guarantors often include entrance and exit counseling 

to satisfy federal student loan requirements. University

programs with available staff also provide counseling, 

generally more broadly than exit counseling for student loans. Financial education programs also differ

in the breadth of material covered. Certain programs

provide comprehensive financial education, extending 
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

12

even to raising a family and planning for retirement

Most program offerings, however, are less comprehensive, focusing on a few key topics

In addition to variation in the degree of personalized 

feedback, financial education programs vary in how 

they attain student participation. Many programs use

the student audience participating in a mandatory 

first-year orientation to provide their services. Others

require students to attend one-credit courses, or they 

deliver lectures on financial education during scheduled classes. In contrast with these more active engagements, some programs operate as resource centers for

students to use without actively seeking out students

Substantial opportunities exist for institutions of 

higher education to test strategies to build the financial 

capability of students and prepare them for their future 

financial lives. These approaches can build on strategies

that have been used to date, as described in Appendix 

A, and new approaches. Institutions of higher education may also consider what tools they could use to

create a culture on campus that is more supportive of 

healthy financial behaviors, as they have in other areas, 

such as more energy-efficient campuses. Colleges and

universities can also harness their unique expertise and 

resources to thoroughly research and assess initiatives, 

and thereby add to the field of knowledge about financial capability

Existing Evaluations 

Few evaluations exist of financial education programs 

used in postsecondary education settings. The most comprehensive evaluations available are for the University

of Arizona’s Credit-Wise Cats program, the FDIC’s 

Money Smart curriculum, and FINRA’s loveyourmoney

org. Nevertheless, the evaluations show generally positive impacts of existing financial education program

The University of Arizona’s Credit-Wise Cats financial education seminar was evaluated by Borden and 

colleagues (2008) testing knowledge of good financial 

management practices and planned financial behaviors 

before and after the seminar. Students’ financial knowledge attitudes toward credit significantly improved

after the Credit-Wise Cats seminar. The likelihood

that a student viewed a credit card as an opportunity to 

build credit through deliberate but limited use showed 

an increase between the pre- and post-tests, and there 

was a significant decrease in the number of students 

planning to take behaviors defined as riskier, such as 

using a cash advance on a credit card or exceeding 

credit limits. No control group was used for the study,

but the short time span between the pre-test and the 

post-test suggests that any changes are attributable to 

the seminar. It is unclear how persistent these findings

are over time

The FDIC has produced an intermediate-term impact 

evaluation of the Money Smart financial education 

curriculum, across various sites (of which two out of 

68 were higher education institutions) (FDIC 2007)

The evaluation found that Money Smart participants 

improved their financial behaviors after the course, as 

well as their confidence in managing their finances

For example, in a follow-up survey of participants, 

there was a significant increase in positive financial 

behaviors such as using a savings account, using direct 

deposit and comparison shopping for bank accounts

Participants showed a 13 point increase in saving regularly, a 12 point increase in paying bills on time, and 

overall 95 percent of participants indicated continued 

use of a budget

Another program that has conducted a longitudinal 

evaluation is the Love Your Money program, which 

conducted a follow-up evaluation of the program at 

five public large universities. This study included analyzing data on over 3,800 face-to-face contacts and

over 5,000 online users. The evaluation found a statistically significant increase in users’ confidence in their

ability and motivation to manage their finances. The
13

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

researchers have also found that requiring completion 

of the www.loveyourmoney.org program for class credit 

is the only effective way of ensuring that students use 

it. A follow-up evaluation completed in 2012 collected

survey data from past participants in the program, to 

see if they retained healthy financial behaviors, positive 

attitudes of saving, and future financial plans up to two 

years after completing the program. Large majorities of

the follow-up participants indicated that the program 

continued to influence their saving, reducing spend-

ing, making financial goals, and other financial behav-

iors and attitudes, including confidence in planning for 

the future and managing finances. Students also noted

high levels of sound financial behaviors, such as mak-

ing timely payments on credit cards and not exceed-

ing credit card limits. Program participants also de-

onstrated greater financial confidence, less financial 

stress and more positive behaviors than a similar con-

trol group surveyed (Morrow 2014)

In summary, there are few thorough evaluations of the 

postsecondary financial education programs, although 

they suggest that these programs may be helpful for 

students. More rigorous evaluations are necessary to

decisively attribute improvement in student financial 

behavior to these interventions. A mixture of quantit-

tive impact analyses and qualitative process studies will 

help researchers understand what element of a finan-

cial education program is the most beneficial for stu-

dents, since most programs combine various features
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

14

SECTION III.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Higher education institutions have a tremendous opportunity to directly influence the financial capability and 

financial decision-making of students; doing so has benefits for the institution as well as the student. Below is

a series of recommendations for how institutions can 

effectively engage with students to improve their financial capability, decision making, and financial health

Implement Effective Financial 

Education Programs and Build a 

Culture of Financial Capability

Higher education institutions have a powerful opportunity to help students improve their financial capability and financial well-being. Creating an effective

financial education program is an important step every 

college and university should consider. The sampling

of programs and curricula described in Appendix A 

provide some ideas for different ways such an intervention could be structured. Research on knowledge

retention and program effectiveness suggests that people may absorb information and advice best when it is 

most relevant to their lives ( Jumpstart 2006; Prochaska 

et al. 1994). This suggests that the most effective programs for students would focus on decisions regardin

bank accounts, debit and credit cards, consumer rights 

and protections, interest rates, budgeting in the shortand long-run, paychecks and benefits, emergency savings and retirement funds, housing, health coverage, 

and—critically—student financial aid including loan 

disbursement and repayment. It is important that any

intervention be evaluated for effectiveness

In order to encourage student learning about financial topics, colleges can provide incentives that motivate students to become interested in personal financial management and act accordingly. For example, contests and encouraging messages can promote

an environment where sound financial decisions are 

the norm. Such approaches, along with other strategies may prove effective in creating a culture of financial capability across campus, not just among students

directly involved in financial education programs

Prepare Financial Educators 

Research on primary and secondary educators provides 

strong evidence that many teachers do not feel qualified to teach personal finance topics (Way and Holden 

2009), and the same is likely to be true of educators in 

the postsecondary realm. Colleges and universities need

to ensure that appropriate staff is available and able to 

provide needed financial education. Higher education institutions could pursue overlapping strategies to

enhance the current supply and ensure the future supply 

of skilled financial instructors. These include: seminars

for faculty and staff on campuses; training and coaching for college counselors; resources and course content 

on financial topics that can be used as stand-alone subject matter or incorporated into other programs or curricula; financial literacy instruction for future instructors 

through education programs; and enhanced partnerships between higher education institutions and existing high quality financial education providers. In many

cases, it may be more appropriate to partner with existing high quality financial education providers, to provide 

online or mobile-based financial education and decision-making tools, one-on-one counseling and coaching, or some combination of the above

Provide Opportunities for Students to 

Receive One-on-One Counseling

Some universities and colleges have established oncampus financial management centers where students 

can receive financial counseling as well as access educational materials and resources. Unlike brochures
15

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

and information provided online, financial management centers provide a central location where students can be provided immediate one-on-one, often 

peer-to-peer, financial guidance and avenues through 

which universities can reach out to students (Heaney 

et al. 2006). Other promising approaches include timing counseling to coincide with times of the year whe

students are deciding about how much to borrow 

(Asher 2009). A number of community colleges have

identified counseling and one-on-one coaching as key 

approachs to help working adults manage their family finances while pursuing higher education. Research

suggests that individual counseling can make a difference in knowledge and behavior (Prochaska et al. 1994;

NIH 2002; NIH 2007)

Provide Students with 

Peer-Learning Opportunities

A number of activities at postsecondary institutions 

use peer-to-peer models to provide financial education 

and/or counseling. Because students have widely different backgrounds and may have or develop different

needs over time, peer-to-peer financial education and 

counseling can be particularly important (Yankelovich 

1998). Peer or one-on-one counseling efforts could be

combined with online modules or instruction that allow 

individuals to follow up with personalized instruction 

and feedback

Provide Access to Cost Calculators 

and Customized Information

Schools that offer Title IV federal student aid programs are required to provide net price calculators 

so prospective students and their families can estimate the cost of attending that particular institution

Net price calculators aid students in determining the 

resources they need to attend a given college. These

tools should be promoted and easy to find on the institution’s website so families can make more informed 

decisions about the costs of attending. Ideally, data

made available through government and institutional 

“Smart Disclosure” can help spur the creation of customizable calculators and other tools that can provide financial information tailored to individual needs 

and circumstances, both at individual institutions and 

across a range colleges and universities. Additionally,

institutions that have not yet committed to adopting the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet should do so 

for the following academic year. More information on

the Financial Shopping Sheet can be found at: http://

www.ed.gov/financial-aid-shopping-sheet

Support Research and 

Evaluation on What Works 

Universities have a particularly strong opportunity 

to contribute to the knowledge base of what is effective in promoting financial capability by implementing research and evaluation to test effectiveness of programs among students, faculty and others. The CFPB’s

2014 report on rigorous evaluation of financial capability strategies provides insights for research on the 

effectiveness of various financial capability strategies

2 

Some other specific items that should be considered 

include: 

• Using random assignment and control groups 

to assess outcomes of financial education 

interventions;

• Assessing behavioral changes over an extended 

time period, not just knowledge gains;

• Assessing skills in applying core financial knowledge to real-world examples;

• Considering impacts on attitudes and satisfaction with financial matters (financial health);

2 The report, “Rigorous Evaluation of Financial Capability Strategies: 

Why, When and How,” provides additional ideas for assessing programs, 

available at, http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201401_cfpb_report_rigorousevaluation-financial-capability.pdf 
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

16

• Considering analysis of administrative data, such 

as loan repayments and credit reports, with permission and privacy protections, that can provide 

verifiable information on financial outcomes; and 

• Supporting research on differences in financial 

knowledge among different populations

Conclusion

Financing postsecondary education and managing 

finances both during college and upon entering the 

workforce are moments when critical decisions are 

made that may have lasting consequences for financial 

security. This time also presents a powerful opportunity to engage with students and their families directly,

and help them make the best possible financial decisions for their own circumstances. From tools and

strategies to help families navigate the financial aid 

system to institutional based programs that teach students how to manage their finances—including student loan debt—while on campus, there is potential to 

directly impact the financial capability of students. As

part of a national strategy to increase financial literacy 

and financial security, institutions of higher education 

have a unique and important role to play. Investing in

the financial capability of current students may translate into higher completion rates and more financially 

successful graduates, and beyond that, more financially 

secure Americans
17

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

APPENDIX A.

FINANCIAL EDUCATION

PROGRAMS & RESOURCES

Financial Education Programs 

and Resources

To identify programs designed to provide financial education to college students, the Urban Institute conducted 

online searches of national databases and clearinghouses 

with information on various federal, state, local, and private financial education programs

3

 The Urban Institute 

also determined whether any of the programs had been 

evaluated to ascertain their impact on knowledge, attitudes, outcomes, and, if possible, behavior

The range of topics included in postsecondary financial education programs is large, and there is great variety in the nature and scope of programs. Some programs focus specifically on student loan matters, while

others focus on savings and investment. Seventy-one

percent of respondents from university-affiliated programs in one survey reported that their programs covered consumer protection (Lyons et al. 2006). In addition to covering a set of financial subjects, many financial education programs provide links to other programs or tools that enable participants to identify an

access additional financial resources and knowledge

Formal financial education is provided to college students by varied sponsors and through many different venues. Two broad categories of sponsors provide

3 The Urban Institute reviewed online program listings maintained by the 

Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions 

Fund and Office of Financial Education, the Education Department’s 

What Works Clearinghouse, mymoney.gov (the U.S. government websit

dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education, 

with information from 22 federal agencies and bureaus on financial 

decision-making), the National Financial Education Network, and the 

National Endowment for Financial Education Clearinghouse

financial education to college students: academic institutions, and businesses and other nonprofits

Many of these programs have not been rigorously evaluated for effectiveness. Although there are few thorough evaluations of the postsecondary financial education programs, as described earlier in the report, the

evaluations that do exist suggest that these programs 

may be helpful for students

Campus-Based Programs

Colleges and universities have resources, including funding, facilities, and experts, as well as access to 

students, which help facilitate the establishment and 

operation of financial literacy programs. Examples of

financial education programs at colleges and universities are summarized in exhibit 1. More detail on each

program is provided below. Most are co-curricular programs (that is, outside an accredited course of study),

but many curricular programs are presented as well
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

18

Exhibit 1: Financial Education Program Matrix

Services Attributes Content

Counseling

Use of external financial 

education programs

Presentations to

student groups

Cooperative Extension 

Service Program 

Extension program

Serves low-income or 

minority populations

Evaluation completed 

or in process

Information on

student loans

Information on credit, 

debt, and interest rates

Information on 

budgeting and saving

University of Arizona X X X X X X X X X

Bethune Cookman University X X X X X X X X

Champlain College X X X X X

Elgin Community College X X X X X X

University of Florida X X X X X X X X X

University of Georgia X X X X X X X X

University of Illinois Extension X X X X X X X X

Indiana University X X X X X

Iowa State University X X X X X

Kansas State University X X X X X X X X

Louisiana State University X X X X X X X

University of Maryland – Eastern Shore X X X X X

Mississippi State University X X X X X X X

University of Missouri X X X X X

Montana State University X X X X X

New Jersey City University X X X
19

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

Services Attributes Content

Counseling

Use of external financial 

education programs

Presentations to

student groups

Cooperative Extension 

Service Program 

Extension program

Serves low-income or 

minority populations

Evaluation completed 

or in process

Information on

student loans

Information on credit, 

debt, and interest rates

Information on 

budgeting and saving

New Mexico State University X X X X X X

University of North Texas X X X X X

Ohio State University X X X X X X X

Purdue University X X X X X

Rutgers University X X X

Sam Houston State University X X X X X

Skyline College X X X X X

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute X X X X X X

Southern Vermont College X X X X X

Syracuse University X X X X X X X

University of Tennessee X X X X X X X

Texas Tech University X X X X

Valencia College X X X X X

Wright State University X X X X

University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee X X X X

Notes: This list should not be considered exhaustive. In most cases, program content is derived from publicly available literature and websites. Man

financial education programs involve counseling and discussion components. It is entirely plausible that content not recorded here is covered in these

discussions. Programs are recorded as extension programs if the Cooperative Extension Service was substantially involved in the financial educatio

Some postsecondary schools do have USDA–NIFA Land-Grant Colleges and Universities (1862, 1890, and 1994 Institutions). USDA–NIFA

Cooperative Extension Service programs that did not play a leading role in the financial education program (e.g., Rutgers University), and othe

Cooperative Extension Service programs that provided financial education to the community but had no identifiable student program (e.g., Virgini

Tech) were excluded from consideration here
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

20

Programs Not Based on Campuses 

Nonprofit organizations, financial institutions, and small 

businesses also provide financial education programs, 

often in conjunction with colleges and universities, or 

such institutions may use material developed by community based and nonprofit organizations in their own 

curricula. Education programs not based on campus can

vary widely, and include traditional games, video games, 

interactive websites, and curricula. In addition to these

resources, various nonprofits provide financial education 

and counseling to college students outside the university setting. Examples of financial education provided

by community-based and nonprofit organizations or 

businesses are summarized in Exhibit 2. More detailed

information on these programs is presented below

Exhibit 2: Financial Education Resources and Non-Campus Program Matrix

Resource Type Program content

Non-campus 

program

Curriculum

Game

Online

Information on 

student loans

Information on 

credit, debt, and 

interest rates

Information on 

budgeting and 

saving

Buttonwood X X X X X

CashCourse X X X X X

Financial Awareness and Consumer Training for Students X X X X X X

Financial Literacy 101 X X X X X

Love Your Money X X X X

iGrad X X X X X X X

Mapping Your Future X X X X

Money Smart X X X X

MoneyTopia X X X X X X

Money U X X X X X X

OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling X X X X X X

SALT X X X X X

Society for Financial Education and Professional Development, Inc. X X X X

TG Student Financial Education X X X X X X

USA Funds Life Skills X X X X

Notes: Program content is derived from publicly available literature and websites in most cases. Many financial education programs involve counseling

and discussion components. It is entirely plausible that content not recorded here is covered in these discussion
21

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

Widely Used Resources and Curricula 

Many campus- and non-campus-based programs 

presented in exhibits 1 and 2 (and below) use online 

resources or other curricula that are available to and 

used by other financial education programs. These

resources form the backbone of co-curricular (and in 

some cases, curricular) postsecondary financial education in the United States

CashCourse is a free online course on financial basics, 

paying for college, studying abroad, and applying for 

work funded by the National Endowment for Financial 

Education (NEFE). CashCourse offers a range of

instruction on credit and debit cards, saving, identity 

theft, paying for college, and planning for retirement

Nationwide, 550 universities use CashCourse for their 

financial literacy programs

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) 

Investor Education Program provided funding to 

the University of Tennessee Extension Department 

of Family and Consumer Sciences to develop 

loveyourmoney.org, an interactive website that teaches 

college students how to manage money. The website

leads students through several modules on a variety of 

topics, including budgeting and debt repayment

The Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) 

developed a financial education curriculum for lowand middle-income individuals in 2001 called “Money 

Smart.” Money Smart’s curriculum emphasizes credit

and banking services and is used in over 30 colleges 

and universities

The guarantee agencies of the Federal Family 

Education Loan Program4 sponsor the Mapping Your 

Future website, a source of financial education material 

4 The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) was discontinued 

in 2010 but the guarantee agencies continue to service the loans originated 

under FFELP and support Mapping Your Future.

for multiple grade levels that is regularly linked to by 

schools and nonprofit organizations

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission 

(FLEC) has developed a national financial education 

website called “MyMoney.gov” which serves as a clearinghouse of materials for the FLEC member agencies

In particular, MyMoney.gov allows visitors to search by 

life event in order to find information that is the most 

relevant in addition to offering easy-to-use tools like 

calculators and budget worksheets that can be easily 

incorporated into any financial education program

Postsecondary Financial 

Education Programs

One goal of this study was to survey existing financial education programs for postsecondary students

Summaries of the surveyed programs are provided 

below. We provide a sampling of some of the most

prominent financial education programs based on a 

review of the academic literature on financial education, Internet searches with standard search terms, and 

federal financial education clearinghouses. Many programs may be recent in development, and have limited

information available about them. Programs are listed

alphabetically

College- and UniversityBased Programs 

University of Arizona

http://takechargecats.org

The Take Charge Cats/Credit-Wise Cats is a money 

management program for University of Arizona students, as well as college students and students in grades 

K–12 in the greater Tucson community. The program’s

counselors are University of Arizona students who 

receive extensive training from University of Arizona’s 

Take Charge America Institute faculty and staff. The
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

22

counselors offer presentations and workshops that 

focus on six core topics: spending plans, cash management, credit cards, credit reports, paychecks, and education versus income. In addition, the Credit-Wise

Cats design and implement programs that include 

personal finance competitions in area high schools and 

middle schools and events like Family Finance Day

The program began in 2000 with five financial counselors or “credit ambassadors,” who secured a grant to 

hold a speaker series on campus. Since then, the number of counselors has grown to about 15, and the program staff estimates its efforts have reached over 21,000

youth and adults in the Tucson community through 

hundreds of workshops

Bethune Cookman University

http://www.cookman.edu

Bethune Cookman University, a historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida, provides various 

financial education opportunities to its students. The

Bethune Cookman Investment Association (BCIA) was 

started in 2009 to educate students about investment 

management, stressing multigenerational asset building 

for families. In this sense, BCIA is unique among university financial education programs by providing educational material in the context of family finances far

beyond the immediate college experience. The National

Association of Black Accountants (NABA) also conducts seminars and workshops on credit cards, savings 

accounts, and investing. NABA also offers Money Smart

courses, an FDIC financial education program. Finally,

Bethune Cookman’s Students in Free Enterprise organization holds regular financial literacy forums sponsored by Fifth Third Bank

Champlain College

http://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-excellence/

center-for-financial-literacy

Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy 

reaches beyond its campus walls to the greater Vermont 

community. Its mission is to increase knowledge of

money matters in classrooms across Vermont, ensure 

college students graduate with the skills to make sound 

decisions about spending, credit and investments, and 

help adults navigate difficult financial situations like 

buying a home and saving for retirement. In partnership with several financial institutions, non-profit entities and governmental agencies, the Center promotes

and develops financial literacy skills in K-12 students, 

college students, teachers (K-12 and college) and 

adults. For example, the financial education program

for Champlain students includes budgeting and goal 

setting, understanding credit and employee benefits, 

buying your first car, and loan repayment. The Center

also advocates for more financial education opportunities at the local, state and national level

Elgin Community College

http://elgin.edu/students.aspx?id=11034 

Elgin Community College of Elgin, Illinois (ECC) 

offers a comprehensive financial literacy program that 

enhances a student’s college experience by offering 

resources based on financial health exercises and personalized assistance. ECC’s program includes events

on completing FAFSA and accessing financial aid, a 

Financial Literacy 101 module, and personalized loan 

repayment and career development service information for graduates. ECC’s financial literacy program

also includes individual financial counseling and budget workshops for employees and students offered once 

per semester
23

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

University of Florida

http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/literacy

The University of Florida has conducted various 

recent outreach efforts to promote the FINRA-funded 

loveyourmoney.org website. The University of Florida’s

outreach efforts included promoting the program 

through the Office of Academic Support’s student 

counselors, holding a financial quiz-bowl event with 

an iPod raffle for those who answer quiz questions 

correctly, and introducing students to the website during 

orientation. The University of Florida, in partnership

with other loveyourmoney.org users, is currently involved 

in a multi-college evaluation of the program, discussed 

in more detail elsewhere in this report

University of Georgia

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/hace/undergraduate/pfc.html

University of Georgia’s Peer Financial Counseling 

Program is based on the premise that peers are the best 

financial literacy instructors for fellow college students

The program has seven modules covering budgeting, 

credit use, student loans, and savings and investments

The program provides student speakers to present the 

modules to classes, clubs, residence halls, and other student organizations. Each module uses seminars, handouts, group discussions, and Internet resources. Th

program has been in place since October 1999, when 

the Georgia Student Finance Commission received a 

grant to develop initiatives to help reduce the number 

of students defaulting on their student loans

A smaller-scale approach to financial education at 

the University of Georgia has used spending diaries 

to influence the spending patterns of several hundred 

undergraduate students. The expenditure tracking was

intended to raise students’ consciousness about their 

income and expenditures over time, specifically spending on alcohol. The College of Family and Consumer

Sciences at the University of Georgia evaluated the 

intervention and found evidence of a positive impact 

on student behavioral outcomes. Seed money for

program implementation was provided by the U.

Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food 

and Agriculture

University of Illinois Extension Service

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/financialwellness/

services.cfm

The University of Illinois Extension Service provides students with free access to trained peer educators who provide one-on-one assistance and counseling on financial wellness. The Extension Service also

reaches out to the campus community by delivering financial education presentations to student clubs 

and classes. Various resources are also made available,

including a budgeting tool and an expenses tracking 

tool. The University of Illinois also directs students to

the National Endowment for Financial Education’s 

(NEFE) CashCourse program, an online course that 

can be customized by institutional users to fit their 

needs. Various financial aid resources and financial

planning blogs and websites are also provided on the 

University of Illinois Extension Service website

Indiana University

www.moneysmarts.iu.edu

Indiana University’s Office of Financial Literacy was 

established to assist students in making informed financial decisions before, during, and after college. They

provide multiple opportunities for students to enhance 

their personal finance skills such as an interactive website, podcasts (“How Not to Move Back in with Your 

Parents”), events and workshops, and classroom-setting 

education dedicated to the unique needs of college students across each of their campuses. In partnership with

the IU-Bloomington School of Public Health,  they 

have created  the IU MoneySmarts Team, a group 

of peer financial educators who  deliver  educational 
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

24

workshops, individual student meetings, presentations, 

resources, and other tools to contribute to the overall 

health and holistic wellness of the IU community and 

increase the impact of the personal financial management message

Iowa State University

http://www.hs.iastate.edu/about/key-initiatives/

personal-financial-literacy

Iowa State University has traditionally offered its students a three-credit course in financial education. In 2009,

the student government made the case to the administration that the course was insufficiently funded and did 

not meet the needs of students who were not interested 

in or did not have the time for a full course. Responding

to the request, Iowa State University introduced a onecredit financial education course using the CashCourse 

curriculum. All 26,000 Iowa State University students

are required to take the one-credit course, which offers 

a range of instruction on credit and debit cards, saving, 

identity theft, paying for college, and planning for retirement. CashCourse is available at Iowa through funding from the student government. When Iowa adde

the one-course credit, it also expanded the enrollment 

capacity of the existing three-credit course. In addition

to its curricular offering, Iowa State University has a 

financial counseling clinic available to students as well 

as the local community for more tailored financial advising on homeownership and credit

Kansas State University

http://www.k-state.edu/pfc

In August 2009, Kansas State University began a center for student financial education called Powercat 

Financial Counseling. Powercat provides free direct

counseling to students with questions about personal 

finance and financial decision-making. The center

also provides workshops for student groups. Powercat

Financial Counseling uses student peer counselors 

who volunteer to both counsel and deliver presentations, after receiving training. Beginning in fall 2010,

the work of the program has been buttressed by a 

Student Advisory Board who host interactive financial 

events on campus and market the services of Powercat 

Financial Counseling to students. Peer counselors and

the Student Advisory Board members also direct students toward three educational resources: SaltMoney.

org, LoveYourMoney.org and the Powercat Financial 

website at www.k-state.edu/pfc

Louisiana State University

http://www.cashcourse.org/home/CaseStudies/

LouisianaStateUniversity

Louisiana State University has taken advantage of the 

CashCourse curriculum and adapted it for use in its 

financial education program. CashCourse material has

also been converted to eight financial education handouts, called “Financial Basics on the Geaux.” The handouts include discussion of spending, credit, investment, and saving. Finally, Louisiana State Universit

has developed CashCourse quizzes to evaluate what 

students know and what they have learned. All these

CashCourse resources are shared with students at their 

freshman orientation

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

http://www.umes.edu/PR/Article.aspx?id=16314

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically black university, offers financial education to its 

students through the Department of Labor’s Wi$e-Up 

program. Wi$e-Up targets “generation X and Y” students with an eight-component online course, covering money management, credit, savings, insurance, and

investment. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore

has also cooperated with the Institute for Higher 

Education Policy to develop a mentoring program for 

first-generation college students in order to provide 

them with additional tutoring and financial education
25

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

Mississippi State University

http://msucares.com/frm/index.html

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 

offers various financial education programs to students, as well as the local community. Their flagship

financial education program is the interactive website 

loveyourmoney.org, which was designed for students at 

Mississippi State University and four other universities. This website leads students through several modules, including coverage of budgeting and debt repayment. Users register on the website, take a pre-survey

and answer review questions at the end before receiving a certificate of completion. The Mississippi State

University Extension Service also provides various literature and videos on personal finances that are available to the broader community, but which can also be 

accessed by students

University of Missouri

http://ofsmizzou.org/

The Office for Financial Success at the University of 

Missouri – a service of the school’s Department of 

Personal Financial Planning and College of Human 

Environmental Sciences – is dedicated to improving 

the financial well-being of individuals and families by 

providing affordable, unbiased education and counseling in all areas of personal finance. The Office provides one-on-one counseling sessions as well as group

workshops and seminars. Topics for individual sessions

and workshops range from financial problem areas - 

credit, debt management, budgeting - to productive 

areas of personal finance, such as investing, insurance, 

and employee benefits. The University of Missouri also

offers an undergraduate personal financial planning 

degree program that is registered with the Certified 

Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Upon graduation, students in the program are allowed to sit for the

comprehensive Certified Financial PlannerTM examination to earn the right to use the CFP® designation

Montana State University

http://www.montana.edu/news/1875/free-financialcounseling-and-information-available-to-montana-students

Montana State University has offered its students 

free financial literacy resources through the $tudent 

Advocates for Financial Education ($AFE) program since 2001. Following the format of many college financial education programs, $AFE disseminates

information on financial literacy, including printed literature, PowerPoint presentations for student groups, 

and links to other information sources. The program

has a relatively broad mandate and seeks to inform students on spending decisions, credit cards, buying insurance, identity theft, and financial decisions after college. Between 2001 and 2008, $AFE was funded by

the Student Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization promoting higher education that is based in 

Helena, Montana. Since 2008, the program has been

supported by Montana State University

New Jersey City University

http://www.njcu.edu/financial-literacy

New Jersey City University, a federally designated 

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), has a Financial 

Literacy Program that features the activities of Student 

Financial Literacy Expert (FLEX) Teams composed 

of student representatives from various year levels

FLEX teams engage their peers in workshop discussions, and they speak at campus seminars and conferences. The Financial Literacy Program also provides

various resources to students who come for additional 

information, including NEFE’s CashCourse and the 

Mapping Your Future program
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

26

New Mexico State University

http://your.nmsu.edu/tag/red-to-green

New Mexico State University is currently scaling up its 

financial education efforts. In spring 2011, their “Red

to Green Money Management Program” held a money 

management fair to promote games, websites, and 

outside financial education organizations to students

The program also provides one-on-one counseling for 

students seeking financial advice in their facility, and 

provides presentations on financial education to student groups and classes. New Mexico State University

recently started offering a one-credit personal finance 

course for freshman. Strong demand for this course

makes it likely that course capacity will be increased 

in subsequent semesters. New Mexico State University

faculty suggest that they are deliberately modeling 

their approach after the University of Georgia model 

of delivering financial education to freshman in a classroom setting

University of North Texas

http://studentaffairs.unt.edu/

student-money-management-center

To help students attain financial independence, the 

Student Money Management Center at the University 

of North Texas provides personal financial and money 

management education to UNT Denton-campus students at no cost. In addition to seminars and presentations, it provides confidential individual financial consultations and planning services, such as cash flow analysis, credit management, and the creation of a financial survival plan for college and debt repayment pla

Additional services include assistance understanding 

credit reports and scores, researching housing options, 

and analyzing job offers and benefits packages

Ohio State University

http://swc.osu.edu/financial-education-coaching

Ohio State University’s Student Wellness Center 

Financial Education Initiative offers various financial education programs to students. Scarlet & Gray

Financial, a student-run financial planning firm, provides financial coaching to students through the Center

Scarlet & Gray Financial works with over 60 volunteer students to help deliver financial education. The

Wellness Center also offers Success Series presentations to freshman students, including about 40 sessions 

each fall on financial education. These financial education presentations are provided to sorority and fraternity organizations, student organizations, and classe

Purdue University

http://www.purdue.edu/mymoney

Purdue University’s Student Support Services provides a wide range of financial education resources to 

students, aggregated from several external nonprofits

It provides access to the American Institute of CPA’s 

360 Degrees of Financial Literacy, a series of modules on such standard financial education topics as 

debt, budgeting and saving, and an explanation of how 

these issues are dealt with differently across different 

stages in a person’s life cycle. The American Institute of

CPA’s Feed the Pig financial education video game is 

also offered to students to teach them about good saving behavior. The center also provides access to AARP

material on retirement saving, although this is less relevant for the student population. Purdue is also one

of many universities to use CashCourse at its Student 

Support Services center. Students can seek out information on their own from the FDIC Consumer News

reports and David Ramsey’s website, both of which are 

shared by the center. Finally, Purdue University links

to mymoney.gov
27

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

Rutgers University

http://njaes.rutgers.edu

Since the 2000–01 academic year Rutgers University 

has offered a campus-wide financial literacy campaign 

called Rutgers University Financial Independence 

Training (RU-Fit). RU-Fit was spearheaded by the

school’s faculty senate, which was specifically concerned with bolstering student understanding of credit 

and responsible management of credit cards and regulating credit card vendors at the university. (Rutgers

University Senate 2000). Like many financial literacy

programs, RU-Fit provides fact sheets and literature 

on various topics, mostly related to credit card use and 

debt repayment. For example, students are offered literature (in English and Spanish) on different kinds of

credit, credit terms, and credit for women. RU-Fit also

holds training seminars on these topics for students

One unique offering of the program is the PowerPay 

computerized debt reduction analysis, which generates 

an analysis of outstanding debt and a debt reduction 

plan for students. The debt reduction plan guides students through debt repayment strategies such as paying off debts with the highest interest rates, the lowest

balance, and the shortest term. PowerPay’s strategy is

based on reducing debt burdens on students, but also 

on providing “psychological boosts” by paying off lowbalance debt earlier in the debt repayment process

Sam Houston State University

http://www.shsu.edu/dept/smmc/about-us.html

In an effort to help combat financial illiteracy and 

the growing amounts of debt among college students, 

Sam Houston State University, Division of Student 

Services initiated the Student Money Management 

Center (SMMC), which is a financial outreach and 

educational program for its students. The program

provides students assistance with expense tracking, 

budget creation, debt repayment planning, locating 

external financial education resources, and understanding employee benefits packages and retirement plans 

prior to starting their careers

Skyline College

http://www.skylinecollege.edu/sparkpoint/services/

FinancialEducationWorkshops.php

Student Services at Skyline College are integrated 

with the network of SparkPoint Services provided by 

Skyline College. SparkPoint is a one stop financial

education and financial coaching service center that 

students and other members of the community utilize 

to achieve financial stability. Students and community

members have access to financial education workshops, 

financial coaching sessions, pre-paid debit card services, and a host of other tools and resources to augment financial capability

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

http://www.sipi.edu/outreach/outprog/feep

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, a tribal college, recently expanded the financial education offerings of its Family Extension & Education Program 

(FEEP). Their new Financially Fit program addresses

both the needs of college students and members of 

the tribal community (Institute for Higher Education 

Policy 2010). Financially Fit includes a mandatory

three-hour workshop on financial education for all students receiving financial aid, continued development 

of the financial education workshops provided under 

the old FEEP program, and a peer-educator program, which the Institute hopes will more effectively 

expand the reach of its work to the tribal community

Students who attend workshops and receive peer educator training are expected to serve as resources for the 

community
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

28

Southern Vermont College

http://www.svc.edu/academics/success_center

Southern Vermont College offers a wide variety of 

financial empowerment opportunities, including campus meetings on financial education, class visits by 

financial education experts, and intensive courses 

on financial development. Movie and documentary

screenings are also used to teach financial empowerment. The College is a recipient of Department of

Education TRiO program funding, which is used to 

support its Success Center. The Success Center offers

various tutoring and counseling services to first-generation students; it also includes a financial empowerment component

Syracuse University

www.syr.edu/financialaid/financialliteracy

The “I Otto Know This!” program at Syracuse is a multilevel financial literacy program that provides Syracuse 

University students with the skills and resources necessary to successfully manage their money. The program is designed to provide financial management

tools to undergraduate and graduate students throughout their education. Students benefit from the selfdirected online Life Skills series, the Money Awareness

Program (M.A.P.), a Federal TEACH Grant, and

financial aid e-news column. The Student to Student

Program strives to enhance the level of knowledge in 

topics including budgeting, credit card management, 

student loan management, identity theft and overall 

financial planning through students teaching students

Student educators are trained via a curriculum written 

in house, by other students, to guide their peers to positive money management behavior and assist in reinforcing decision making skills

University of Tennessee

http://fcs.tennessee.edu/nutrfdsfty/safefd

The University of Tennessee has conducted various 

recent outreach efforts to promote loveyourmoney.org

The university’s outreach efforts included a luncheon 

with local banks and credit unions to promote the website for student customers, a campus event on George 

Washington’s birthday to promote the website and log 

students in to the website, and classified ads in the student newspaper. The University of Tennessee, in partnership with other loveyourmoney.org users, is currently

involved in a multi-college evaluation of the program, 

described in more detail below

Texas Tech University

http://ttu.orgsync.com/org/redtoblack

The Red to Black program at Texas Tech University 

is a free financial literacy program that is an outreach 

effort of the Personal Financial Planning academic 

major. It aims to help students, faculty, community

members, and organizations by advocating responsible 

financial behaviors through financial counseling, financial education, and skills training. The program provides free financial planning, counseling, and seminars

covering the following areas: establishing credit, using 

credit wisely, creating a budget, saving money, investment education, correcting credit report mistakes, 

repaying debt, organizing finances, selecting employee 

benefits, expenses during or after college, buying a car 

or home, and planning premarital finances. The program has a core program staff of a director, a coordinator, and three graduate assistants. The program als

has outreach- and client-based peer financial counselors, undergraduate and graduate students who conduct seminars and presentations and offer one-on-one 

counseling
29

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

Valencia College

http://valenciacollege.edu/finaid/dp

Valencia College Financial Learning Ambassadors 

promote financial literacy and responsible money management among their student peers by conducting skill 

shops, presenting in Student Success classrooms (first 

year experience classes), collaborating with Wellness 

Ambassadors who are part of the Federal Work Study 

program at Valencia and other faculty members and 

Student Life offices at campus events. Many of the

Ambassadors’ presentations are with students enrolled 

in Valencia’s Student Success courses. These are

classes teaching strategies for success in life and college and providing the appropriate platform for introducing the topic of financial responsibility. In addition, Ambassadors’ are partnering with faculty members who teach developmental math courses to promote financial literacy. Ambassadors also ensure the

reach students outside of the Student Success courses 

by hosting information booths and distributing financial literacy material during campus events. Through

these Ambassadors, students are empowered to make 

educated fiscal choices and take action to improve current and future financial security

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 

http://www4.uwm.edu/academics/ger.cfm 

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for 

Economic Education has led several financial and economic literacy programs for students in partnership 

with local, state and national organizations. Due to the

efforts of the Center, the student body, and the UWM 

Academic Program and Curriculum Committee, 

UWM students are now required to complete a 2-part 

Quantitative Literacy Course that makes significant 

use of quantitative tools including personal finance

Wright State University

http://business.wright.edu/academics/undergraduate/

finance-and-financial-services/introduction

The Wright Financial Path program has been offered 

at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, since 

2002. The program provides one-on-one counseling

by students from the University’s Raj Soin College of 

Business, who have completed a training program with 

the Consumer Credit Counseling Services. Students

who participate in the program also have access to 

workshops and seminars that focus on budgeting, saving, choosing a credit card, obtaining a credit report, 

improving a credit score, and managing debt. The program, developed to help students manage credit card

debt and other credit issues, is unique because students 

are so heavily involved in running the program: they 

provide the counseling, do marketing, and write software for the program

Programs Not Based on Campuses

Buttonwood

http://www.everfi.com/products.php

Buttonwood is a college financial literacy and student 

loan management product created by Everfi for use in 

postsecondary institutions. Buttonwood is an online,

interactive, customizable platform that covers a wide 

range of financial education topics, including saving and budgeting, credit scores, credit cards, banking, 

taxes, renting versus owning, consumer fraud, investing, and student loans. Everfi specifically designed the

Buttonwood program to align with requirements for 

student loan exit counseling. This allows the product to

fulfill specific requirements facing postsecondary institutions as well as a broader array of financial education topics
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

30

Financial Awareness and Consumer 

Training for Students (FACTS)

http://www.hesc.ny.gov/partner-access/financial-aidprofessionals/debt-management/financial-literacy-programs.html

The Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) 

is a state agency that manages 18 of New York State’s 

scholarship and loan programs and provides financial education to student loan recipients in New 

York through its Financial Awareness and Consumer 

Training for Students (FACTS) program. It was also the

guaranty agency for the Financial Federal Education 

Loan (FFEL) program in New York. FACTS provides

four downloadable modules for teachers and administrators to use in the classroom. The modules cover

basic financial education, credit and credit cards, and 

identity protection. Although HESC manages student

loans, the educational material it provides addresses 

more general financial education. In addition to the

FACTS resources, HESC provides exit counseling for 

student loan recipients when they leave school

Financial Literacy 101

https://www.financialliteracy101.org

Financial Literacy 101 is an online financial education course developed by Decision Partners, a nonprofit organization. The course is specifically targeted

to undergraduates and adaptable for use in classrooms, 

orientations, resource centers, and social organizations 

like fraternities, sororities, or clubs. Financial Literacy

101 can be managed by instructors or administrators 

through Blackboard, an online educational platform 

commonly used in universities. In addition to multimedia courses, Financial Literacy 101 allows students

to construct a budget, a plan to achieve financial goals, 

and a financial aid plan. A final exam is available so

instructors can measure student progress

iGrad

http://schools.igrad.com

iGrad currently partners with schools nationwide to 

provide a customized financial literacy platform for students, as well as alumni and staff. iGrad offers a postsecondary, adaptive learning, financial education platform which features modules, articles, videos, videobased Entrance and Exit Counseling and various other

resources. iGrad’s focus is not only on improving financial knowledge, but more importantly changing financial behavior. iGrad’s 15 chapter comprehensive classroom curriculum, Your Financial Mastery, covers 

range of topics including basic financial topics, college 

funding, investing, spending plans, retirement planning, and more. This financial literacy curriculum is

designed to meet the standards of a 1 credit, higher 

education course and adaptable to the particular needs 

of a school and its instructors. In 2013, iGrad was recognized with an EIFLE Financial Literacy Award

for Education Program of the Year in the category of 

Debt Management. In 2013, iGrad also received the

Outstanding Consumer Information Award from the 

Association for Financial Counseling, Planning and 

Education

MoneyTopia

http://www.saveandinvest.org/Military/manageMoney/

managingCredit/P037943

Produced for the Financial Industry Regulatory 

Agency (FINRA), MoneyTopia is an immersive, roleplaying strategy game. The game is designed to teach

18- to 24-year-olds how to manage their money and 

investments. It lets players experience life over an

accelerated 40 years and requires them to make financial decisions as they adapt and strategize to win the 

game and their chosen Big Dream. The game covers

topics including net worth, financial ratios, mortgages, 

spending plans, avoiding deceptive credit and investment sales practices, saving for college, setting financial 
31

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

goals, bankruptcy, credit, managing debt problems, 

buying and leasing vehicles, and comparing financial 

products

Money U

http://www.moneyu.com

Money U is a 6- to 10-hour course designed especially 

for young adults age 17 to 25. This online, self-paced,

game-based financial education course presents interactive and flexible content to teach young adults practice skills in credit card use, saving, debt, and personal 

financial planning. The curriculum covers eight topic

areas—spending, saving, banking, credit, debt, credit 

score (including identity theft), planning, and earning—that map to the curriculum standards of 16 states

In the game, users experience 16 major life events, such 

as getting their first part-time job, getting into college, 

graduating college, getting married, and having a baby, 

which introduce varying financial consequences and 

make every player’s experience unique. In the lessons

between milestones, students practice relevant financial concerns, including general skills such as good 

spending habits and more practical skills such as how 

to do taxes. Students take a pretest and a posttest to

empirically measure what they learned from the course

Administrators and teachers can view detailed individual and aggregated student data and activity. About

10,000 students have used MoneyU to date. Post test

scores are on average 51 percent higher than pretest 

scores

OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling

http://ontrackwnc.org/student_loan_counseling.htm

OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling has 

provided free financial education to western North 

Carolina residents since 1975. OnTrack serves a wide

variety of clients with its counseling program, including student loan recipients. Participants in OnTrack’s

student loan counseling program receive advice on 

consolidating their loans and help with formulating payment plans. OnTrack counselors regularly

contact loan providers for students during these sessions. OnTrack has been supported by various funding

sources including several federal grants, United Way 

contributions, and contributions from private corporations. In 2009, OnTrack’s homeownership counseling program received a Community Development

Financial Institutions (CDFI) pilot program grant for 

financial education and counseling

SALT Money

https://www.saltmoney.org/index.html 

American Student Assistance (ASA) is the nonprofit 

organization that created SALT to educate students 

about their finances and how to take charge of their 

money during college and beyond. SALT helps students and families navigate financing a higher education, successfully manage any resulting debt, and build

money skills for life. SALT gives in-depth information

on a range of financial topics and provides online tools 

to track and plan student loans, tips on how to make 

smart decisions about loans, scholarship searches, and 

other helpful information

Society for Financial Education and 

Professional Development, Inc. (SFE&PD) 

http://sfepd.org

SFEPD is a nonprofit organization which focuses on 

financial education and professional development at 

the early stages of career development through midlevel management. It provides in-person instruction to college students through the “Mind Over

Money Skills” seminar series, which includes “Credit 

Management” and “Personal Money Management” 

seminars for college students. SFEPD has particularly

focused on serving historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) since 2001
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

32

TG Student Financial Education Program

http://www.tgslc.org 

The TG Student Financial Education Program makes 

a free curriculum in financial literacy, college access, and 

student loan counseling and printed materials available 

to Texas secondary and postsecondary institutions. TG

also administers Federal Family Education Loan program loans. With over 20 modules designed to provide

content through multiple short memorable concepts, 

the program covers a wide array of topics, including 

banking 101, credit basics, saving and investing, college costs, steps to starting at community college, paying for college, the FAFSA, student loan entrance and 

exit counseling, information about the different federal repayment plans, among others. Several modules

are available online through the TG Learning Center, 

which is available for free to Texas Colleges and certain 

colleges outside of Texas whose borrowers have loans 

guaranteed by TG. TG operates “Train-the-Trainer” to

train others to provide the trainings to current or aspiring college students and their families and additional 

trainings sessions to help institutions build their own 

programs. The program won the 2013 Outstanding

Financial Counseling and Planning Education’s 2013 

Outstanding Education Program

USA Funds Life Skills

http://www.usafunds.org/SchoolServices/Pages/

LifeSkills.aspx

USA Funds Life Skills is an online financial education course that can be tailored to the needs of different student groups, including undergraduates, graduate students, and adult education students. Each lesson

can be completed within 30 minutes and is accompanied by quizzes and exercises. The primary focus of the

USA Funds Life Skills program is student loan management, although the material also covers budgeting 

and debt management
33

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

APPENDIX B.

INTERVIEWEES

For this study, the Urban Institute interviewed 18 academics, researchers, advocates, and program administrators:

1. Pauline Abernathy, Vice President, The Institut

for College Access and Success (TICAS). TICAS

is a nonprofit organization that conducts and 

supports research, analysis, and advocacy to make 

higher education more available and affordable

2. Ted Beck, President and Chief Executive Officer

National Endowment for Financial Education 

(NEFE). NEFE is a national nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the financial wellbeing of all American

3. Debra Chromy, Vice President of Governmen

Services, American Student Assistance (ASA)

Formerly a state-based student loan guaranty 

agency, ASA is now a nonprofit services and 

advocacy organization that helps students and 

families manage student debt

4. Paul Combe, President and Chief Executiv

Officer, American Student Assistance (ASA)

5. Ted Daniels, Founder and Chief Executiv

Officer, Society for Financial Education and 

Professional Development (SFEPD). SFEPD is

a nonprofit organization that develops and offers 

customized financial education and professional 

development workshops and seminars

6. Dottie Bagwell Durband, Director of Red an

Black program and Associate Professor of Personal 

Financial Planning, Texas Tech University

7. Jonathan Fox, Associate Professor of Consume

Economics, Ohio State University

8. Amy Hartenstine, Director of CashCourse

National Endowment for Financial Education

9. Tahira Hira, Professor of Personal Finance an

Consumer Economics, Iowa State University

10. Bradley Honious, Director of Financial Aid

Valencia Community College

11. Audrey Hue, Financial Literacy Instructor

Bellevue College

12. Austin Jackson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Decision Partners. Decision Partners is an independent nonprofit organization that provides online

learning programs, including Financial Literacy 101

13. Lewis Mandell, Visiting Professor in Finance an

Business Economics, University of Washington, 

and Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute

14. Barbara O’Neill, Professor of Financia

Management, Rutgers University

15. Tim Ranzetta, Founder and President, Studen

Lending Analytics. Student Lending Analytics is an

independent organization that provides guidance on 

private loan options for post-secondary education

16. Mike Ryan, Vice President of Borrow Services

American Student Assistance

17. Michael Staten, Director of Take Charg

America Institute, University of Arizona

18. Mark Walsh, Default Prevention Progra

Analyst, Federal Student Aid, Department of 

Education
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

34

APPENDIX C.

FEDERAL STUDENT AID

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federa

Student Aid provides grants, loans, and work-study 

funds for college or career school. Pell Grants, which

are given in amounts up to $5,730 in the 2014–15 

school year and will be up to $5,775 in the 2015-16 

school year, form the foundation of federal student 

aid, to which other federal and nonfederal aid can be 

added. These grants are need-based and do not have to

be repaid unless a student withdraws before the end of 

the term or receives an incorrect amount. The Federal

Work-Study Program provides part-time employment 

for students who qualify. By far the largest source of

federal aid, however, is student loans

Types of Loans

Five types of loans are available to postsecondary students and their families: Federal Perkins Loans, which 

are need-based; Direct Subsidized Loans, which are 

need-based; Direct Unsubsidized Loans; Direct PLUS 

Loans, which are available to parents who want to help 

pay for their dependent children’s undergraduate education or graduate students paying for their own education; and Direct Consolidation Loans, which allow 

borrowers to combine multiple federal loans into one 

loan with one monthly payment. Each of these loans

has a fixed interest rate, which for the 2014–15 school 

year ranges from 4.66 percent for Direct Subsidized

and Unsubsidized Loans for undergraduate students 

to 7.21 percent for Direct PLUS Loans. The interes

rate of a Direct Consolidation Loan is a fixed rate is 

based on the weighted average of the interest rates on 

the loans being consolidated, rounded up to the nearest 

one-eighth of 1 percent. For subsidized loans, the government pays the loan interest while students are still

in school and certain other periods; for unsubsidized 

loans, the borrower pays all the interest

Entrance and Exit Counseling

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) requires al

federal student loan borrowers to complete entrance 

and exit counseling. This counseling can occur in person with financial aid staff, through the school’s website, or online on the Department of Education’s website. The Department of Education requires that certain areas be covered during these sessions, but it allow

flexibility in how the material is presented. The U

Department of Education’s online entrance counseling takes about 30 minutes and covers basic facts about 

budgeting; interest rates and fees; borrowers’ rights and 

responsibilities; repayment alternatives, incentives, and 

plans; and consequences of defaults (U.S. Departmen

of Education 2011a). ED’s exit counseling takes about

30 to 40 minutes and covers many of the same topics 

(U.S. Department of Education 2011

Repayment Options 

Borrowers have several options for repaying their federal student loans. The default option is the standard

repayment plan, under which borrowers pay a fixed 

amount of at least $50 a month for up to 10 years 

(U.S. Department of Education 2011b). There are al

graduated and extended repayment plans; the latter 

is available only to students with high loan amounts 

and allows a loan term of up to 25 years. Under

income-driven repayment plans, such as IncomeBased Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and IncomeContingent Repayment, a borrower’s monthly payment is capped at an amount intended to be affordable 

based on a borrower’s income and family size. If individuals repay under one of these plans for the required

amount of time (usually 20 or 25 years) and have not 

repaid the loan in full but fulfills all other requirements, 
35

Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

then they may be able to have the remainder of their 

balance forgiven. Depending on their circumstances,

borrowers may be required to pay income tax on the 

amount forgiven. Borrowers who are employed in public service jobs may be eligible to have their remaining loan balance forgiven after just 10 years of payments. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF

Program was created in 2007 to encourage graduates to 

enter and remain in public service careers. If borrowers make 120 qualifying payments while employed full

time by public service employers—among them, public 

schools, government agencies, and certain nonprofits—

the remainder is forgiven (Federal Student Aid 2009)

The U.S. Department of Education expects borrowers to keep proper documentation of their PSLF qualifying payments (The Institute for College Access an

Success 2009a). To help borrowers keep track of their

eligibility, the Department of Education published an 

Employment Certification Form which borrowers can 

submit annually to their student loan servicer to ensure 

they are on track for public service loan forgiveness
Opportunities to Improve the Financial Capability and Financial Well-Being of Postsecondary Students

36

REFERENCES

Adams, Troy, and Monique Moore. 2007. “High-Ris

Health and Credit Behavior among 18- to 25-YearOld College Students.” Journal of American

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