Fall 2016 marks the first semester of newly added CashCourse workshops at 麻豆影院. The Bursar鈥檚 Office piloted the program in the spring and has expanded its selection for the fall term. University Bursar Stina Olafsdottir registered 麻豆影院 State with CashCourse three years ago and has been growing the program since.
CashCourse provides online resources targeted to college students with information on a variety of topics such as budgeting, ways to manage federal student loans, banking, insurance and salary negotiation.
CashCourse was initially marketed to faculty and staff as a way to access financial wellness resources that could be used in the classroom or as workshops. The goal of the program is to create awareness about financial wellness and to empower students to take charge of their financial well-being.
鈥淚 know from personal experience working with students and from research on the topic of financial wellness that our students are not ready to tackle the complexities of their financial wellness when they鈥檙e coming into college,鈥 Olafsdottir says. 鈥淎s such, it鈥檚 very, very important to allow financial wellness to be a part of our landscape at 麻豆影院.鈥
Olafsdottir hired Alex Sommer, a full-time graduate assistant, to help launch the pilot program and manage financial education for 麻豆影院 State students
鈥淎lex has been fantastic,鈥 Olafsdottir says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 passionate about the topics, and she loves to work with the students.鈥
Sommer has been developing workshop schedules since fall 2015, and she organized the first few trial workshops last spring term.
A comparison of the attendance between the test run and this fall semester shows an increase in overall attendance. More than 70 students attended CashCourse workshops on campus within the first two weeks.
Sommer believes that the increased attendance can be attributed to a combination of regular scheduling, improved marketing and relatable facilitators. Olafsdottir adds that a larger student population and the new variety of workshops and topics also are beneficial.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e done a really good job of offering a 鈥榖uffet鈥 of workshops for people to really fit into what their needs and situations are,鈥 Sommer says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at this curriculum and the workshops that we鈥檙e offering and trying to make sure that it鈥檚 inclusive of everyone, from international students to graduating seniors.鈥
Workshops offered include 鈥淏udgeting for Life After College: A Reality Check,鈥 鈥淕etting Ahead on the Job鈥 and many more. A partnership with PNC Bank also enables the bank to bring in representatives to facilitate workshops such as 鈥淏anking for International Students鈥 and 鈥淚dentity Theft.鈥
Sommer also credits the program鈥檚 success to marketing, such as bulletins-in-a-bag and the financial wellness champions who facilitate the workshops.
鈥淲e found that it鈥檚 more relevant to have students facilitating these workshops,鈥 Sommer says. 鈥淐oncepts of financial wellness may be overwhelming to some students. Having a peer facilitate these workshops, we have found, makes the workshop and information more relatable and financial goals attainable. Seeing a peer being able to explain the material and also successfully navigate their own financial wellness can encourage students attending our workshops to feel financially empowered themselves."
The Bursar鈥檚 Office hosts the workshops in the Center for Undergraduate Excellence every week, but Olafsdottir hopes to see it incorporated into the curriculum around campus.
鈥淎 lot of the universities are moving in the direction where some of the topics are pushed in to the Freshman Year Experience courses, and they鈥檙e required to be taken,鈥 Olafsdottir says. 鈥淚ncorporating it into the curriculum demonstrates commitment to a student鈥檚 financial well-being.鈥
Olafsdottir recognizes that continued success of the financial wellness initiative is very much a team effort in collaboration with the Center for Undergraduate Excellence鈥檚 student success series, PNC Bank, advising offices, resident services and First-Year Experience instructors.
鈥溌槎褂霸 State is very committed to its students,鈥 Olafsdottir says. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 just the Bursar鈥檚 Office that made this happen. We鈥檝e had fantastic feedback and cooperation across campus to allow us to push this out in different ways, so it may be originating from our office, but we鈥檝e really had a lot of help from other offices and departments.鈥
For more information about the financial wellness workshops, visit www.kent.edu/bursar/financial-wellness-workshops.
