Providing Financial Literacy Education to Students: An Exploration of Financial Literacy Programs at Large Public Institutions

Abstract

As students’ loan debt increases with tuition costs, on average, students are graduating with higher rates of loan debt. Studies have illustrated that students leave higher education institutions ill prepared to manage their finances and with little understanding about the long-term implications of student loan repayment. Low levels of student financial literacy are further complicated by an estimated $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt. Colleges and universities want their students’ to be successful; thus, many higher education institutions have responded by implementing financial literacy programs. To date, little is known about the number and types of financial literacy programs available across the United States. This study seeks to understand how universities are educating their students about financial literacy. This study was conducted in two phases. During the first exploratory phase, a survey was sent to large public institutions that are members of the Coalition of State University Aid Administrators to determine which institutions have a financial literacy program. In the second follow-up phase, the institutions that had a financial literacy programs answered a survey detailing the inception, depth, funding, and extent of the programs. This descriptive data determined that financial literacy programs vary in size, scope, funding, staffing, and stage of development. Results indicated that most institutions have programs that were implemented after 2010. This study allows the important first step in broader understanding by reviewing financial literacy program development at the institutional level, which was previously absent from the existing literature.