The program was developed by the college five years ago to meet a rapidly growing demand for financial planners. Sherman Hanna, a professor of consumer and textile sciences who teaches the course, said an already high demand for financial planners is expected to increase dramatically as baby boomers approach retirement. It used to be you could retire on a pension and not worry about it. Now people are managing their own portfolios, some will live 40 years in retirement, and we have more wealth. Hanna said the response to the course has been overwhelming, with 82 students currently developing comprehensive financial plans for clients.
Students select a client from family, friends or faculty and staff during the first week of class.
They then spend the second week of class gathering financial data on their client. Some practicing financial planners attempt to short-circuit the process by simply handing the client a questionnaire to fill out. Hanna said some clients' finances are neatly organized, while others present quite a challenge. Weekly homework assignments based on the data compiled will lead to a complete financial plan for the client presented at the end of the quarter. But to me, the retirement planning is the most interesting because that is something that most people don't get involved in.