Classification: Four-year public 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.
• Module 4: Take Control of Your Future: Finishing School and Repaying Your Loans.
• Module 5: Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life.

How Used:

• Summer bridge program.
• Invited presentations.

Program Description: Emporia State University uses USA Funds^® Life Skills^® in several financial-literacy activities, ranging from presentations at financial-aid nights for prospective students to credit card dos and don'ts for students living in residence halls.

USA Funds Life Skills also is the cornerstone of an intensive financial-education initiative for students transitioning from Upward Bound to the Summer Bridge Program, which is designed to help these students "bridge the gap" between high school and college. All five modules are used in the program, which aims for students to graduate and be ready to pay off their debt. Because most of the students come from low-income households and have limited personal-finance knowledge or experience, the instructor drills them on very basic information. For example, the instructor emphasizes that the money that students borrow must be paid back, so they should borrow only what they need to graduate.

Students are encouraged to bring their financial-aid award letters to the sessions so they can learn firsthand what their financial obligations entail before they take out their first education loan. The sessions also stress the importance of treating a work-study job as a "real" job.

Staffing Requirements: A graduate teaching assistant in the financial-aid office is responsible for delivering Modules 1-5 as part of the Summer Bridge Program. Financial-aid staff adapts information from the USA Funds Life Skills modules to various audiences as requested.

Recommendations: The financial-aid staff reports that the training provided by USA Funds offered important information about how USA Funds Life Skills materials can be used. Financial-aid staff members suggest that this program can be the backbone for multiple financial-literacy activities, provided a little creativity is applied. They also suggest that presenters' comfort level with the materials grows each time they deliver the information, so they encourage colleagues not to give up after their first presentation.

Campus Contact:
Connie Corcoran, Assistant Director of Student Financial Aid
Phone: (620) 341-5457
E-mail: corcorac@emporia.edu