Classification: Four-year private college or university.

Modules Used:

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

• Entrance counseling.
• Parent orientation.
• Exit counseling.
• Senior seminar.

Program Description: According to the director of financial aid, the financial- literacy initiatives at Harding University reflect the university's commitment to helping students become more savvy about financial decisions that affect them now and in the future. In an environment where scholarship dollars are limited and tuition and student loans rise simultaneously, introducing students to financial-management skills becomes a good way for the university to demonstrate good stewardship.

Accordingly, a committee representing the business office, accounting, student services and financial aid came together to consider the feasibility of using USA Funds^® Life Skills^® to help freshmen become focused on managing their immediate finances and seniors deal with their future financial obligations.

Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students is integrated into the one-hour entrance-counseling sessions required of all freshmen. The financial-aid staff conducts 20 sessions each fall, with separate sessions customized for nontraditional students. The personal-finance software that is packaged with this module is introduced during these sessions.

The financial-aid staff incorporates Module 4: Take Control of Your Future: Finishing School and Repaying Your Loans and Module 5: Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life into exit-counseling sessions each term for all graduating seniors. Ninety minutes are devoted to viewing the videos for these modules with follow-up discussion from the student skills book for Module 5. A lender representative then spends 30 minutes on the topic of consolidation of student loans and discussing "what-if" questions.

In addition, the alumni and parent-relations staff decided to use Module 3: Work Hard but Smart: How to Be Successful in School and Graduate on Time to provide parents with an overview of strategies to help students make the transition to college. The goal is to inform parents of the strategies that students need to adopt to stay on track academically and cope with student life.

As part of a new initiative, the "Life After Harding" senior seminar, the offices of alumni and parent relations, career planning and placement, student financial services and student loans are partnering to offer a fast-paced, informative program that is designed to get seniors on track for spring graduation. The financial-aid staff will use Module 4: Take Control of Your Future: Finishing School and Repaying Your Loans and Module 5: Now That You Are About to Graduate: Taking Control of Your Life in presentations entitled "Leave Harding with a Clean Slate: Get Any Help You Need Now!" and "Debt, Student Loans, Consolidation and the Path to Peace of Mind."

Harding University's president has become more vocal in his support for financial literacy after walking by a gathering of 500 students who showed up for a "No Debt, No Sweat" program on campus last year. The strong showing of students at this event echoes a message for the entire campus — students want and need help managing their finances.

Staffing Requirements: The financial-aid staff delivers Module 1 for entrance counseling and Modules 4 and 5 for exit counseling and the "Life After Harding" presentations. The alumni and parent-relations staff facilitates Module 3 as part of parent orientation.

Recommendations: The director of financial aid suggests finding a champion for USA Funds Life Skills who can find ways to network with other campus professionals to ensure greater buy-in. Any strategies should be structured so that students are motivated to participate, for example, by requiring attendance. Every effort must be made to provide separate sessions that are customized for nontraditional students.

Campus Contact:
Jonathan Roberts, Director of Financial Aid
Phone: (501) 279-5278
E-mail: jroberts@harding.edu