Classification: Four-year public college or university; Historically Black College or University.

Modules Used:

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

How Used: Freshman seminar.

Program Description: The director of financial aid at South Carolina State University recognizes that freshmen are not equipped to handle the transition to college without support from the institution. Few of them have received the help they need to manage their financial and academic lives simultaneously, especially credit-card debt. The freshman seminar (University 101) provides that support.

The financial-aid staff uses USA Funds^® Life Skills^® Module 1: Get a Grip on Your Finances: Smart Spending for Students in presentations to the students enrolled in this one-credit class. They address many of the financial issues students are likely to encounter, and provide intervention strategies. Freshmen are required to enroll in this class, which meets for the first half of the term.

Staffing Requirements: The financial-aid staff facilitates Module 1 in each of the University 101 classes.

Recommendations: The director of financial aid advises that the freshman-seminar program is an excellent venue for implementing USA Funds Life Skills. Working with the academic area is helpful in establishing initial support for the program, because those staff always are anxious to provide students with timely information.

Campus Contact:
Sandra Davis, Director of Financial Aid
Phone: (803) 533-3712
E-mail: sdavis@scsu.edu