USA Funds Life Skills Meets Student Needs at DeVry’s Crystal City Campus

DeVry University Crystal City, in Arlington, Va., is one of nine DeVry locations across the country that are piloting the use of USA Funds^® Life Skills^® on their campuses. After a two-day meeting at DeVry’s corporate offices focusing on retention initiatives, Professor Raymond St. Pierre returned to campus armed with information and a goal to try the USA Funds financial-literacy program.

He first put together a committee of representatives from the faculty, admissions, financial-aid and academic-advising departments to determine which program modules to use and how best to use them.

The committee selected information from Module 1, “Get a Grip on Your Finances — Smart Spending for Students,” Module 2, “Seek Out Financial Aid — Funding Resources and Financial Obligations,” and Module 3, “Work Hard But Smart — How to Be Successful in School and Graduate on Time,” to incorporate in a “Critical Thinking” course. St. Pierre says that the information from the modules relates to the course objectives. The committee plans to use Module 8, “Take Stock: Devising a Realistic Financial Plan,” later in the year.
 
A good fit
Nia Crawford, professor of critical thinking and English, explains that the critical-thinking course is designed to enhance students’ reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making and communication skills. USA Funds Life Skills fits with those objectives, providing information and exercises that cover financial planning, better preparation for class, and time management. Students take part in exercises that cover personal information individually, and group activities that cover issues such as obstacles to success in school and financial planning.

Crawford says that the group exercises are set up like mini-workshops. The students are the presenters, gaining public-speaking practice and and experience in working collaboratively. She indicates that feedback from students has been positive. Students say that they didn’t realize how much money they waste, and that they find the information about financial planning and time management most helpful.

Prior to taking the course, St. Pierre says, the students completed an assessment developed by higher-education-consulting firm Noel-Levitz. He notes that, on the assessments, students listed financial stress as their number-one concern. To address this, the campus plans to expand its use of USA Funds Life Skills to campus-wide workshops that focus on financial issues during spring term.
 
Help for at-risk students
The results of the assessments will help in identifying students who may be at risk for dropping out of school. The committee hopes that the course — along with personal attention and assistance from academic advisers — will help these students. To determine how successful this initiative is, they will track the students after they’ve completed the course. St. Pierre says that they will continue to use USA Funds Life Skills in all of the “Critical Thinking” courses going forward.

For more information about USA Funds Life Skills, contact your debt-management consultant.