Gregory P. Valentine University of Southern Indiana Department of Economics and Finance 8600 University Boulevard Evansville, IN Katherine M. Sauer Metropolitan State College of Denver Department of Economics Campus Box 77 – PO Box Denver, CO Daria P. Sevastianova University of Southern Indiana Department of Economics and Finance 8600 University Boulevard Evansville, IN The Status of Post-Secondary Personal Finance Courses

 Paramount importance of financial literacy in the U.S.  Sparse academic literature  Council on Economic Education and Jump$tart Coalition Surveys  Personal finance education standards at the high school level (44 states)  Need for assessment of the current state of post- secondary personal finance education

 Web-based survey administered through the Center for Applied Research at USI  Invitation to participate ed to NABTE representatives and Directors for Centers for Economic Education throughout the country  Objective and open-ended questions about personal finance courses at each institution

To assess the status of post-secondary personal finance education based on:  Type of course  Institutional location  Course audience  Enrollment  Course content  Instructor demographics  Administrative aspects

n % NABTE SCHOOLS7230 CENTER DIRECTORS AFFLIATED WITH THE COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION SAMPLE DATA BASE

n% NUMBER OR RESPONSES RECEIVED NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT INDICATE THAT THEIR INSTITUTION DOES NOT OFFER A 4 PERSONAL FINANCE COURSE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT DID NOT COMPLETE THE SURVEY8 NET RESPONSE RATE RESPONDENTS STATES RESPONDENTS

Type of Course Offeredn % Credit Course46 82 Non-Credit Course2 4 Workshop16 29 None4 7 Location of Coursen % College/School of Business35 76 College/School of Education7 15 College/School of Liberal Arts2 4 Continuing Education2 4 Other Area6 13 Table 1: Institutional Information

YES%NO% Institutional Level counts toward core curriculum or general education School or College Level counts toward a school/college core requirement Program Level counts toward major, minor, or area of emphasis requirement for a major requirement for a minor or area of emphasis elective for a major elective for a minor or area of emphasis Table 2: Location of Credit Allocation

Credit BearingNon-Credit CourseBearing Course Workshop n%n%n% Freshman Only Sophomore Only Junior Only Senior Only Open to All Students University/College Community All Interested Parties Table 3: Course Audience

YES%NO% Pre-Requisite Information course has a pre-requisite course is a pre-requisite for another course Course Setting traditional classroom setting Assessment pre-test given post-test given Duration whole semester partial semester Table 4: Administrative Aspects of Credit Bearing Courses

Credit BearingNon-Credit CourseBearing Course Workshop n%n%n% Number of Sections Offered or more Number of Students Per Section Over Table 5: Enrollment Per Semester

Credit BearingNon-Credit Topics CourseBearing Course Workshop percentage of time spent on each topic Budgeting, Cash Flows Taxes (Federal/State/Local)9109 Consumer Credit and Debt Management Major Purchases (Home/Auto/etc)10 11 Risk Management (Life/Health/Home/Auto)10 11 Investment Fundamentals (Stocks/Bonds/MF)1215 Financial Decision Making (goals/time value money) Financial Responsibility910 Consumer Rights and Responsibilities8108 Other Topics500 TOTAL100 Table 6: Course Content

n% Rank Adjunct faculty1122 Lecturer/Instructor918 Assistant Professor48 Associate Professor1224 Full Professor1529 Years Teaching Personal Finance 1 – – – – 2036 Over 2024 Gender Female2956 Male2344 Table 7: Faculty Demographics

 Majority of personal finance courses bear credit and are offered within a College/School of Business.  Just over half of the respondents indicate that the course counts towards a major, minor, or an area of emphasis.  The three areas receiving the most course coverage are consumer credit/debt management, budgeting, and investment.  About one third of the courses are taught by full professors and one fifth are taught by adjunct faculty.