Sailing away the winter blues with ISFAA … 2015 Winter Conference Financial Literacy “ROI” Constructing Measurable Financial Literacy Initiatives

2 Contact Info Michele Wedel, Adjunct Instructor Kelley School of Business, IUPUI (317) Sara Wilson, USA Funds (317)

3 Agenda Building The Program Evaluating The Program Discussion/Question & Answer

4 Session Outcomes By the end of the this session, you will be able to: – Cite the importance of involving all stakeholders in the planning and implementation processes – List the top financial literacy topics for the student audience – Describe how to make financial literacy sessions interesting and relevant for students – Use national datasets to develop an assessment plan to measure the impact of the financial literacy initiatives

5 Why is financial literacy needed Student loan debt over $1.1 trillion. Compared to: – Credit card debt = $854 billion. – Auto loan debt = $877 billion. Average student loan debt is approx. $30,000. Financial stress is one of the top reasons for students leaving college prior to completing their education. CDR change from 2-year rate to a 3-year rate.

BUILDING THE PROGRAM

7 Who needs to Be Involved Implementing alone can be difficult Identify the key stakeholders – Who/what areas benefit from financial education Or suffer from a lack of it – Stakeholders will vary from campus to campus Look for overlapping areas – the sweet spot Student Loan Indebtedness

Potential key stakeholders Admissions Enrollment/Retention Orientation/First-Year Experience Financial Aid Academics/Academic Services – Course curriculum, academic advising, Higher Education Opportunity Programs, summer bridge Career Development/Services Administration – President’s office, business office Support Services – TRIO, Upward Bound, EOPS Alumni Services Accrediting Organizations 8

What is needed on my campus Ways to determine the most important financial literacy issues on your campus – Check with student-led organizations – Talk with other departments like financial aid, housing, advising, alumni and retention – Survey students directly 9

10 Create a Hub or Single Point of Contact For example, IUPUI Financial Wellness Committee – Led by Marvin Smith, Director of Student Financial Services – Representation by numerous stakeholder offices Financial aid Student advising Student housing Student government Undergraduate and graduate programs Faculty Office of Financial Literacy – Significantly reduces silos/stovepipes; the barriers to communicating across the institution

11 Start Small, Build Up Focus on the most important outcome(s) Focus on what will impact the most number of stakeholders Students Alumni Office Financial Aid Office Student Loan Indebtedness

12 How can I apply this? Assess the need – all stakeholders, instructional need Clearly and specifically define the goals and objectives of the lesson, course, presentation… – Start with goals, then assessment and finally methods Remember the learners’ perspective – What is driving them, make it relevant Design, implement, evaluate, repeat….

13 Classes, Workshops, Forums, Oh My! Biggest lesson learned – Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they’ll come. Choose delivery methods that work best for you and your students. Variety is key – Meets the needs of different types of learners

14 Classes, Workshops, Forums, Oh My! Formal admissions process Freshman orientation programs First year experience courses Individual course work/ assignments Incorporated into program of study Financial aid application process SAP appeals Peer mentor programs Electronic newsletter/ targeted s Group presentations/ workshops Summer bridge programs for high school students Student Success Programs

Classes, Workshops, Forums, Oh My! Office of Financial Literacy – Phil Schuman, Director – Money$marts web site Money$marts FWC & SFS Leadership For credit class – Hybrid & Online – Same design Except for in-class portion – Pre/post-Tests – End of course survey – Launched Fall 2013 – FWC key to promoting – 306 so far, 88 started 1/12/15 Silos reduced or removed! 15

16 SLO’s for F151 Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to: – Identify the benefits of using personal financial planning techniques to manage finances. – Measure risk and return and explain the trade-off between risk and return in personal finance decisions – Describe how to establish and maintain good credit – Establish a strategy for monitoring and defending their financial identity – Identify and evaluate the components of a financial aid package to make informed decisions regarding the acceptance of financial aid and the taking out of student loans.

17 Make It Relevant Topics of interest according to research – Saving and investing for the future – Getting ahead financially after graduation – Avoiding credit problems and ID theft – Budgeting income and expenses – Financial aid and student loans

18 Make It Relevant Find ways to relate training to topics that matter to students – Ways to save money on campus – Skills needed to make financial decisions students are being asked to make loans, food, housing, transportation Teach the concept, show an example and then have the students apply – Exercises can be simple and still teach life long financial management and problem solving skills

EVALUATING THE PROGRAM/IMPACT

20 Why Measure Track progress towards goal(s) identified when building the program Assess effectiveness of program and make improvements Challenges: – “Doing no harm” does not equal “doing good” – Difficult to prove scientifically (attribution vs. contribution) Solution: look for leading indicators — knowledge, attitudes and behaviors

21 What to Measure What have others done? — Use national datasets – Numerous school and program specific research studies – Some nationwide research on the state of financial literacy – Very few nationwide research on effectiveness What can you do? — Learning value chain – Input: volume and exposure – Reaction: satisfaction – Learning: knowledge and ability – Attitude: planned actions – Application: changes in behavior

22 Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation Kirkpatrick, D. L. & James D. Kirkpatrick. (2006). Evaluating training programs: The four levels, 3rd ed. San Franciso: Berrett-Koehler

23 The Learning Value Chain - Simplified LevelMeasurement FocusKey Questions Input - 0 Volume and exposure to materials How many participants? What topics were presented? Reaction - 1 Satisfaction with program Was the program relevant, important and useful at this time? Learning - 2 Knowledge and ability to apply newly learned skills Did participants increase or enhance knowledge, skills or perceptions and have confidence to use them? Attitude and Planned Action - 2 Participant planned actions What’s one thing you plan to do differently related to managing your finances after receiving this training? Application - 3Changes in behavior What did you do differently after related to managing your finances after receiving the training? Impact - 4Impact Did it impact the bottom line? Did you meet your ultimate goal?

24 What to Measure Leading indicator examples: – Number of borrowers and borrowed amounts. Indiana University – 12% decrease in borrowing from to – Number of SAP appeals (repeat vs. new). – Number of students retained from year to year. Discussion – What data might you have at your disposal that contains leading indicators? – What new data could you collect? Remember to make it measurable!

25 How to Measure Again, review the SLO’s identified when building the program – Implement assessment methods that will measure whether or not the SLO’s were met Pre-test and post-test End of course survey – Self reported data, but is still a good way to measure Student surveys at set times after the course, workshop or other training/teaching event Grades – Information can also be used to fine tune the instructional methods

I would recommend this course to other students.

Because of this course I am better able to manage my personal finances.

I can develop and use a budget to plan for and keep track of my income vs. expenses.

I understand my student loan repayment options and how to select one that fits my financial situation.

30 Example Results: Life Skills Nearly 728,000 courses completed by more than 214,000 students. Average post-course assessment score: 88% Immediate post-course survey (approx. 104,000 surveys): – Average student rating for usability, relevance and satisfaction: 4.2 out of 5 – Average knowledge before: 3.4 – Average knowledge after: 4.4 – Intent to change behavior: 94%

31 Example Results: Life Skills Follow-up survey (approx. 13,300 surveys): – 90% reported making a positive change in behavior Top behavior changes reported: – I consider if an item is a need or want before purchasing it and spend less on wants. – I established educational, financial and/or career goals. – I researched and understand the requirements to complete my program of study. – I avoid taking on additional debt unless I am sure I can afford the payments. – I spend more time on activities that help me achieve my educational, financial and career goals.

DISCUSSION/Q&A

33 Contact Info Michele Wedel, Adjunct Instructor Kelley School of Business, IUPUI (317) Sara Wilson, USA Funds (317)