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 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:

• New student orientation.
• Exit counseling.

Program Description: Schiller International University's financial-literacy initiative has a dual purpose: It helps the institution improve its cohort-default rate while helping students become better-informed consumers. The university's proactive approach is intended as a hedge against the challenges of credit-card abuse and excessive borrowing. To that end, the financial-aid staff uses USA Funds^® Life Skills^® as the primary source of financial information shared during new-student orientation and exit counseling for each of the university's eight campuses.

Prior to the arrival of new students on campus, the financial-aid administrator for all eight campuses sends copies of the student skills booklets for Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students and Module 2: Seek out Financial Aid: Funding Resources and Financial Obligations to all incoming students to preview. A financial-aid counselor on each campus follows up with a 40-minute presentation for student orientation on each of the eight campuses. Since the school adopted this approach, students appear to have a better understanding of financial information, especially budgeting. The financial-aid administrator reports a sharp drop in the number of phone calls to her office immediately following orientation.

The financial-aid administrator uses 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 to facilitate the university's approach to exit counseling. Seniors and graduate students receive copies of the student skills books to review before going to the Web to complete the exit-counseling process.

Staffing Requirements: The financial-aid administrator dispenses the student skills books to all incoming students. Financial-aid counselors on each of the campuses conduct the orientation sessions. The financial-aid administrator oversees exit counseling.

The relationship between students and the financial-aid staff has improved greatly since the USA Funds Life Skills program was introduced. The program has allowed the financial-aid staff to streamline the approach to both orientation and exit counseling.

Recommendations: USA Funds Life Skills is a highly efficient approach to financial literacy for small, multi-campus colleges and universities. The flexibility of the program allows Schiller International University to manage student orientation and exit counseling at both the institutional and campus levels, while establishing meaningful channels of communication with students at both levels.

Campus Contact:
Doris Chomba, Financial Aid Administrator
Phone: (727) 736-5082, Ext. 253
E-mail: doris_chomba@schiller.edu