Classification: Four-year public college or university;
Hispanic-Serving Institution.
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: Student-support-services workshops.
Program Description: The director of student-support
services is very serious about the success of those students in her charge.
These students include first-generation, low-income students and those with
disabilities. Through her close working relationship with the financial-aid
office, she learned about USA Funds® Life Skills®. After a
careful review of the materials, she and her staff decided that the program was
a good fit. Responsible money management and greater awareness of personal
finances are topics that staff deem important for their students. Subsequently,
12 staff members were trained to facilitate the program. The staff decided to
deliver each of the five modules as a separate workshop for their students. All
workshops are advertised through mass e-mail, posters, flyers and reminder
cards. Students are required to attend 80 percent of the functions included in
the student-support-services program. When student work schedules or class
conflicts prevent students from participating in the sessions, a staff member
works with the student on an individual basis.
Staffing Requirements: Members of the
student-support-services staff are responsible for facilitating the modules.
Recommendations: Giving students ownership of their finances
is one of the goals of the financial workshops. It's important to figure out
what students need to know about money management and then examine the
possibilities for articulating that information. The director of student-support
services suggests that having a USA Funds consultant to advise the staff at this
point is especially helpful. It's equally important to provide training for
anyone who plans to facilitate delivery of the modules.
Campus Contact:
Lucy Torres, Director of Student Support
Services
Phone: (361) 825-3266
E-mail: torres@falcon.tamucc