Claflin University: Orangeburg, S.C.

Classification: Four-year private college or university; Historically Black College or University.

Modules Used:

  • Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students.
  • Module 2: Seek out Financial Aid: Funding Resources and Financial Obligations.
  • Module 3: Work Hard But Smart: How to Be Successful in School and Graduate on Time.

How Used:

  • Parent orientation.
  • Class assemblies.

Program Description: Students, parents and staff are partners in the financial-literacy program at Claflin University. USA Funds® Life Skills® helps the university articulate its commitment to providing financial information to students and their parents.

During parent orientation in June, July and August, the director of financial aid uses Module 2: Seek out Financial Aid: Funding Resources and Financial Obligations and Module 3: Work Hard But Smart: How to Be Successful in School and Graduate on Time. These 90-minute sessions focus on the importance and consequences of the financial decisions students make while they’re enrolled and after they graduate.

Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students is presented during one of the 50-minute class assemblies for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. According to the director of financial aid, the interactive CD packaged with the module makes this presentation very "real world" for the students.

Staffing Requirements: The director of financial aid is responsible for delivering the USA Funds Life Skills modules.

Recommendations: Begin by finding a place where the USA Funds Life Skills program can be integrated into existing activities, especially those your office is responsible for administering. Share the materials with other colleagues whose activities could be enhanced with one or more of the program modules. Invite a USA Funds Life Skills trainer to campus to provide a comprehensive overview of the materials and a demonstration of how the modules can be implemented.

Campus Contact:
Sheri Jefferson, Director of Financial Aid
Phone: (803) 535-5720
E-mail: sjefferson@claflin.edu