Classification: Two-year public college or university.

Modules Used: Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students.

How Used: Individualized financial-aid counseling.

Program Description: Academic Support to Provide Individualized Resources for Education is a student-services program that targets low-income and first-generation college students, as well as those who have documented disabilities that require academic support. One of the services that students in this program receive is assistance with financial aid and scholarships. The ASPIRE counselor uses USA Funds^® Life Skills^® in many of her individual financial-counseling sessions with students, which are tailored to meet the specific needs of each student. She indicates that the program is rich with basic information that students need to be successful in college. She reports that the student skills book and the personal-finance software are great resources for students to take away from their individual counseling sessions.

Staffing Requirements: An ASPIRE counselor delivers Module 1 in individual counseling sessions.

Recommendations: Tailoring the implementation of USA Funds Life Skills to the specific needs of the campus is essential. It's important to examine, and even test, different strategies over time. At EAC, the one-on-one financial-counseling sessions proved to be the best option for using USA Funds Life Skills. The ASPIRE counselor also cites training as important to ensure that the person delivering the information is sufficiently familiar with the materials.

Campus Contact:
Gina Roebuck, ASPIRE Counselor
Phone: (928) 428-8426
E-mail: Gina.Roebuck@eac.edu