Remington College-Tempe Campus: Tempe, Ariz.

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 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:

  • Life Skills Class.
  • Life Skills Workshop.

Program Description: Concern about the growing number of students failing to meet their financial obligations prompted the director of financial aid at Remington College-Tempe campus to become more aggressive in the search for solutions that focused on prevention. After an exhaustive search, campus staff selected USA Funds® Life Skills® as the anchor for a mandatory debt- and default-management-education program. The financial-aid office kicks off the program through highly proactive strategies during intake, orientation and on the first day of school. Students continue their financial education in a mandatory general-education class taught by faculty. The director of financial aid and the director of education collaborated on how to incorporate the USA Funds Life Skills modules into this existing three-credit human-relations class that focuses on life skills in the real world. This class is offered to approximately 200 students each term, with enrollment limited to 25 per section. Guest speakers are popular features of this class. The program is the 2004 winner of the Arizona Private School Association's "Best Student Financial Practice" award.

The positive results observed since the program's introduction in July 2003 include:

  • Students consistently have made their monthly payments on time.
  • Many months of delinquent accounts have been cleared.
  • Class attendance and grades have improved.
  • Morale is much higher among both students and staff.
  • Repackaging financial aid is much easier with 100 percent of returning students completing the FAFSA on time.
  • Students graduate without owing a tuition balance over nine months.
  • Default-rate projections are down, even though enrollment has increased by as much as 25 percent.
  • Efficiency in the financial-aid office has improved.
  • Student attitudes toward the financial-aid office are much more positive.

Staffing Requirements: Two faculty members teach the human-relations class each term. The director of financial aid and his staff conduct the workshops.

Recommendations: The director of financial aid offers the following suggestions for campuses considering the implementation of USA Funds Life Skills:

  • Recognize that education is the most-expedient road to financial literacy.
  • Put together a fulfillment team that includes members of senior leadership. The team will guide the development of the program from the beginning.
  • Consider incorporating the modules into more than one class to get more faculty involved.
  • Let professionals teach the class.
  • Be prepared to take the program to the "next level" after successful implementation is achieved at the current level. For example, the director of financial aid would like to enroll students in a credit-reporting service while they're still in school, thus creating another opportunity to influence their future financial lives, as well as their inclination to repay student loans.

Campus Contact:
Michael Kirchmaier, Director of Student Financial Aid
Phone: (480) 834-1000, Ext. 213
E-mail: Michael.kirchmaier@remingtoncollege.edu

Institution Contact:
Chuck Skidmore, Director of Default Aversion
Phone: (817) 457-5076
E-mail: chuck.skidmore@remingtonadmin.edu