Four-D College: Colton, Calif.

Classification: Private career school.

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 5: Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life.

How Used:

  • Orientation.
  • Academic classes.
  • Exit interviews.

Program Description: The president of Four-D College became a champion for USA Funds® Life Skills® as soon as she learned from the financial-aid director that the program was focused on students. After learning more about this program during a campus workshop, the president met with all managers and urged them to participate in the program. USA Funds Life Skills modules were integrated into the new-student orientation, the instructional program and exit counseling.

The initiative, which began as a financial-literacy/default-management strategy, now has expanded to address student retention. To launch the effort, all managers were required to attend a workshop that focused on the relationship between student-loan default and student retention.

Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students and Module 2: Seek out Financial Aid: Funding Resources and Financial are used during new-student orientation. The financial-aid staff facilitates these 90-minute sessions in large-group settings. Students receive copies of the student skills books for both modules as financial-resource guides for use especially during the first term. The financial-aid director says that students are much better prepared to manage their time and money after experiencing USA Funds Life Skills.

Instructors incorporate information from Module 3: Work Hard But Smart: How to Be Successful in School and Graduate on Time in their academic classes. They have the freedom to integrate the information in any way that they deem appropriate.

Module 5: Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life is delivered during exit interviews for student-loan borrowers. These interviews are conducted in the classroom with students in small groups. The financial-aid staff and the placement department collaborate to deliver Module 5.

Staffing Requirements: The financial-aid staff is responsible for delivering Modules 1 and 2 during orientation. The instructors use Module 3 in their classes. The placement staff collaborates with the financial-aid staff to deliver Module 5 as part of the exit-interview process.

Recommendations: Staff members at Four-D College report that the support of top administrators is key to "selling" USA Funds Life Skills campus wide. They recommend that campus administrators highlight the benefits that students and the institution stand to gain as a result of using the program. They also recommend that campus leaders continue to find creative ways to expand the program's influence.

Campus Contact:
Rocio Garcia, Financial Aid Director
Phone: (909) 783-9331
E-mail: financialaid@4dcollege.com