It
Takes a Campus to Prevent a Default: Rallying the Troops to Promote
Financial Education
Financial Education
By Carissa Uhlman, Inceptia
Vice President of Student Success
In
part one of this article, we discussed how to present your case for financial
education and gain upper level support. Here, we look at the equally important
task of gaining the support of your departmental colleagues, and how to keep
them engaged.
Who: Self-interest gains the
most interest
Human
nature dictates that appealing to one’s self-interest is a powerful motivator.
With this in mind, by helping other offices to see the benefits of promoting
financial literacy, you’re likely to win over some enthusiastic ambassadors.
Here are some suggested messages to motivate staff and faculty on your campus.
Admissions
A
robust financial education program could be the unique campus resource that
sets your school apart from the rest. Work with your admissions team to provide
them with program specifics such as how the program is administered, how many
students have gone through the program, and the resources you provide. Make a
brief survey available to prospective students that measures their level of
financial literacy; it may help to drive home the value of the program, and be
a factor in the decision making process. Admissions representatives also have
the unique job of having the initial conversation about cost and career
earnings; make sure your messages are simpatico.
Student
Advising
If
your financial education program calls for students to determine how they will
pay for college (which it should), what their expected starting salary will be
(per DOL statistics), and what they need to do to remain in good standing
(think SAP and enrollment status), they will be one step up on Maslow’s
hierarchy. Having those initial needs met should allow your students to better
focus on goal-setting and academic planning. In turn, your advisors will jump
for joy at the chance to form a developmental advising relationship with
students. Additionally, training advisors to incorporate financial aid
requirements into academic planning is a form of just-in-time counseling that
further enforces the goals of your program, and strengthens the advisor-advisee
connection.
Career
Services
Speaking
of expected salaries, career advisors know all about gainful employment. Those
who assist students in career planning are keenly aware of the unrealized
correlation between student loan debt and expected earnings. How much easier
would those conversations be if students had already completed this analysis
themselves, through your financial education program, and had adjusted their
borrowing and/or major accordingly? Your Career Services partners would be a
powerful ally in reinforcing these concepts.
Alumni
Services
An
ASA study links alumni giving to how well students feel their alma mater
provided education regarding loans, debt management, and repayment options (2011). Additionally, with
graduated borrowers buried under average debt loads of $29,400, most are too busy
treading water to even begin to contemplate giving back to their schools (2013). It should not take great
convincing for alumni officers to make the connection between a strong financial
education program and strong alumni giving. They may help sponsor an event or
workshop, and may even be able to solicit alumni guest speakers. Having former
students, especially those within the financial field, carry your message to
current students can be quite effective.
Faculty
Knowing
that student stress level and school abandonment are most often related to
finances, you can make the argument that financial education contributes to a
more focused and full classroom. As they are often the first to hear about a
student’s intent, instructors should be encouraged to make referrals as
necessary to ensure students can make informed decisions. Faculty in the
economics and finance departments may be valuable resources to your program for
content development, guest speakers, and to potentially integrate your program
into the classroom.
These
are just a few examples of how to gain buy-in; a myriad of other reasons can be
found to champion departments to your cause. From the business office to records
to student life, there is a common link to be found if you focus on what
appeals to each.
Call to Action: Empower your
ambassadors
Finally,
once you have achieved widespread support, you must find ways to keep your team
engaged and empowered to carry the message. Provide literature and advertising
about your program so they can make student referrals; train appropriate staff
and faculty on key financial education concepts that directly link to their job
functions; partner with others to sponsor student events and workshops for
increased participation. And always provide opportunities to join the movement.
Financial
education should be a forum open to all. You may be surprised to find many who
share your enthusiasm and passion, and are just waiting in the wings for
someone to start the movement.
If
you have tips or suggestions for turning financial literacy into a campus
initiative, we’d like to hear your thoughts. Email carissau@inceptia.org.
To learn more about how
Inceptia can help you train and prepare your campus for financial education,
please contact us via email at inceptiasales@inceptia.org or dial 888.529.2028.
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