Nova Southeastern University is a private, four-year university that offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs to 24,000 students. The university is located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

To inform students of the dangers of excessive borrowing and the importance of good credit records, Nova Southeastern has implemented a Debt Management Awareness program in the Fischler School of Education and Human Services. The school serves more than 12,000 students who are pursuing one of 16 degrees and more than 60 specializations.

A special challenge in delivering debt-management information to these students is that courses are offered at more than 60 sites around the world through blended distance-education methods.

Material for the Debt Management Awareness program is presented to fit that diverse population of students.

The program consists of two components:

All incoming doctoral students in education attend a two-day orientation. During the orientation, students are introduced to their academic advisers and program administrators, provided an introduction to the school’s culture and the online environment and given a tour of the university. The orientation includes a presentation of two USA Funds^® Life Skills^® modules, “Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students” and “Work Hard But Smart: How to Be Successful In School and Graduate on Time.” The 45-minute presentations are conducted by Nova Southeastern’s default-prevention coordinator with assistance from a USA Funds debt-management consultant. Students who are unable to attend the orientation can view the presentation on the Web.

All incoming master’s-degree and specialty-degree students are required to attend a course that includes a one-hour presentation on debt-management awareness. Trained facilitators will deliver the course at sites nationwide. The presentation will include information from the USA Funds Life Skills modules “Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students” and “Embrace New Academic Challenges: Drafting Your Professional Plan.”

In addition, Nova Southeastern’s default-prevention coordinator has conducted 15 debt-management presentations for staff and students of the university’s health-professions division, law school, business school, and for its career-services office and financial-aid counselors. The sessions covered credit ratings and maintaining good credit, scholarship- and grant-search information, loan-repayment options, budgeting and conducting an effective job search after college and the importance of networking. The content was taken from the USA Funds Life Skills modules “Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students,” “Take Control of Your Future: Finishing School and Repaying Your Loans” and “Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life.”