Classification: Two-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.

How Used: Multi-campus environment implementing a multi-level approach.

Program Description: Montgomery College comprises three campuses as well as a vast distance-learning program and several strategically placed smaller off-site locations throughout the county to meet the needs of more than 32,000 for-credit students.

The primary goal of the default-management coordinator is to develop a multi-level financial-literacy program to educate all students on a wide range of money-management topics. A survey conducted in 2002 by the default-management coordinator revealed that 90 percent of the student body lacked money-management skills.

USA Funds^® Life Skills^® provided the framework for the development of several presentations. The financial-aid counselors and administrators were trained to use the USA Funds Life Skills presentation materials. The default-management coordinator continues to develop a Financial Literacy Team of counselors who can present the program's concepts in the classroom and various other innovative venues.

The financial-literacy program recently expanded to include high-school students enrolled in the College Institute, a program designed for 12th graders transitioning to college.

Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students is used to develop a standard presentation that is easily adaptable for any student audience. Information from Module 2: Seek out Financial Aid: Funding Resources and Financial Obligations may be referenced when discussing credit and loan issues. The PowerPoint presentation for trainers, the student skills book for Module 1, and the interactive budgeting game are used to create discussions and activities to help the student judge where they are in their own skill development.

Presentations of USA Funds Life Skills materials are included in the following programs:

• Summer bridge program. The academic-advising office partners with the financial-aid office to provide a presentation of Module 1 to students enrolled in an intensive two-week session in July.

• New-student orientation. New students receive a brief but thoughtful introduction to money management as a life skill. The students are challenged to think about personal choices in terms of needs and wants. This presentation also includes a brief exercise on the cost of making purchases through credit.

• College-survival class. This is a mandatory freshman-orientation course taught by the academic-advising office. The Financial Literacy Team uses Module 1 to discuss the concepts of basic budgeting, goal setting, and how to find financial aid. Presentations are scheduled after the fourth week of the semester on the Germantown and Takoma Park campuses.

• Money-management fairs. The financial-aid office sponsors this event in April and May on all three campuses. The student-loan community and representatives from the local financial district provide relevant financial information, set up tables to provide information about topics such as identity theft, investing, banking, exit counseling and debt counseling. Students are given the opportunity to play the interactive budgeting game from USA Funds Life Skills. Several campus departments are needed to make this a success. Faculty are encouraged to give extra credit if their students attend the fair. Faculty and staff also attend this event.

• High-school classes. The partnership between Montgomery College and the Montgomery County Public Schools provides another venue for the Financial Literacy Team. The presentation includes a thoughtful discussion regarding money decisions, needs and wants, planning a basic budget for college expenses, and how to search for financial aid.

Cooperation between the financial-aid office and other offices to advance this initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. More than 1,000 students were involved in one or more of the financial-literacy activities. An added benefit of the program is that other staff members who become familiar with the financial information are beginning to refer students in financial distress to the financial-aid office for appropriate counseling.

Staffing Requirements: Financial-aid professionals are responsible for delivering Module 1 to all audiences included in this initiative. The dean of students, the academic-advising staff and the student-life staff provide input regarding presentations to specific audiences.

Recommendations: Two major factors have contributed to the success of the USA Funds Life Skills program at Montgomery College:

• Establishing the rationale for addressing financial literacy. Before the program was introduced formally, the default-management counselor surveyed students on all three campuses to assess their basic knowledge of money management. She found that most students had two or three credit cards and had "maxed out" at least one card. For the most part, banking skills were nonexistent, and students expressed little interest in learning how to manage their finances. Then she made all survey information available to her colleagues and college administrators who shared her concerns.

• Gaining campus cooperation. The college views default management as a community issue, and staff make the following additional recommendations:
  • Developing partnerships is essential.
  • Garnering support from any office begins with a plan that is designed to appeal to those areas whose current missions can be served by a financial-literacy program. These interested parties include administrative staff, supervisors and directors.
  • Doing your homework is helpful. Find out which offices already are highly student-centered and get to know their staff.
  • Working with your supervisor to ensure that the appropriate chain of command is observed when presenting the plan to other offices helps to expedite the buy-in process.
  • Providing training on the use of the USA Funds Life Skills program for all staff can prompt even greater buy-in. The quality of the program becomes apparent.
  • Developing partnerships with external financial professionals, such as lenders, investment managers and bank specialists can provide much-needed support for student events like the money-management fair.
  • Inviting the student-life office to provide food incentives for events like the money-management fair is a great opportunity for student organizations to partner with the financial-aid office.

Campus Contact:
Jacqueline Lynch, Financial Aid Counselor/Default Management Coordinator
Phone: (301) 353-1905
E-mail: jackie.lynch@montgomerycollege.edu