Classification: Four-year public college or university.
Modules Used: Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances:
Smart Spending for Students.
How Used: High-school outreach.
Program Description: The Four Corners Upward
Bound Math and Science Program is an intensive five-week summer academic program
that extends over three consecutive summers on the NAU campus. This innovative
program is designed for low-income, first-generation freshmen and sophomore
high-school students from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Helping these students access and manage financial resources is an important
part of their preparation for college. To that end, the director of financial
aid shared USA Funds® Life Skills® with the program's
director and her staff as a potential instructional tool. After examining the
materials, the staff selected Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart
Spending for Students and the supporting materials to incorporate in the
curriculum every third summer. A USA Funds consultant then came to campus and
conducted a train-the-trainer workshop. In addition, the director hired and
trained a former summer-program participant to deliver the module to the
students. The module is presented in its entirety to the 58 high-school students
in this residential program. The personal-finance software, the interactive CD
and the student skills books are used fully in four separate four-hour sessions.
Staffing Requirements: A former program participant delivers
Module 1 and the supporting materials.
Recommendations: The director recommends as a first step
deciding which age group is to be targeted for the USA Funds Life Skills program
and then selecting the module that corresponds to the specific needs of that
group. Contacting a USA Funds staff person to schedule a training session for
all directors and staff is helpful. The director believes that seeing how other
people use the modules is essential. She points out that while the materials are
great, grandiose ideas for implementing the program that aren't tempered with
reality can result in frustration and diminished commitment.
Campus Contact:
Terry Hubbard, Director of Four Corners
Upward Bound Math and Science Program
Phone: (928) 523-1315
E-mail: Terry.Hubbard@NAU.edu