Programs

An Investment in the Community

BAUER PROGRAM FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY SPREADS MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS ACROSS HOUSTON

 

Program for Financial Literacy

(Photography by Christopher Galluzzo / Nasdaq, Inc. © 2016 Nasdaq, Inc.)

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Our primary focus is for our student body, but we also want to reach out to our community through our financial literacy initiatives.

JOHN LOPEZ
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FINANCE

In just three years, Bauer College has launched and grown a financial literacy initiative that has provided outreach to thousands of Houstonians, trained nearly 3,000 business students and gained national recognition.

Established in 2013, the college’s Program for Financial Literacy educates the University of Houston and surrounding community about all facets of personal finances, including how to pay off student loans, build credit history and save for the future.

There is an urgency to providing this kind of programming to the community, specifically an audience enrolled in or preparing for college, according to Associate Dean Frank Kelley, who helped to build the program.

“We have developed a curriculum that we offer to all UH students, not just those pursuing business degrees,” said Clinical Assistant Professor John Lopez, who teaches in the program.

Pioneered by Dean Latha Ramchand’s initiative to extend financial literacy beyond the campus community, the program also seeks to make a difference for Houstonians by offering financial literacy workshops in low-income schools and partnering with local area nonprofits.

“Our primary focus is for our student body,” Lopez said. “But we also want to reach out to our community for financial literacy — specifically, students who are in high school, or even middle school students.”

“There is about $1.2 trillion outstanding in student loan debt in the United States,” Kelley said. “One of the main reasons students don’t graduate on time is because they’re working to pay their way through college.”

Through the program, undergraduate finance students can enroll in a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) track and complete six courses that are approved by the CFP Board of Standards — meaning that students who complete the track will have met all the coursework requirements for certification upon graduation.

“The fact that our program is a CFP board certified program really is a big win for our students because it’s a curriculum-based program,” Lopez said. “If they were not able to get a CFP board certified program at Bauer College during their undergraduate studies, they would have to go somewhere else to do it and probably pay about $5,000.”

Students enrolled in the program also have the opportunity to share their knowledge across campus. Throughout the semester, students host workshops for organizations around the university that address the financial issues college students face.

Faculty in the program also reach out to the UH population through classes offered to all students. The courses aim to provide a basic understanding of financial issues, including how to manage credit scores and the basics of a 401(k).

We have developed a curriculum that we offer to all UH students, not those pursuing business degrees,” said Clinical Assistant Professor John Lopez, who teaches in the program.

Pioneered by Dean Latha Ramchand’s initiative to extend financial literacy beyond the campus community, the program also seeks to make a difference for Houstonians by offering financial literacy workshops in low-income schools and partnering with local area nonprofits.

“Our primary focus is for our student body,” Lopez said. “But we also want to reach out to our community for financial literacy — specifically, students who are in high school, or even middle school students.”

Joyce Williams, an undergraduate program director who oversees community outreach, added: “As someone put it, we are teaching the community how to fish. We are providing them with the information and resources they’ll need to plan and work toward their financial goals.”

One of the program’s major initiatives for community outreach is an annual on-campus financial symposium, which is open to the public and offers daylong programming on a range of financial topics.

The program was recognized on a national scale earlier this year, when TD Ameritrade awarded the college $50,000 through its NextGen Grant — the only award given by the organization this year to an established financial literacy program.

Even with all of the work already being done through the established program, the college sees the opportunity to do more, Kelley said.

“Through the grant, we’re going to expand our outreach as a college,” he added.

The grant funding, Kelley said, will be used to increase the amount of financial workshops for students, hire additional staff and sponsor the annual Bauer Financial Symposium, slated in 2017 for April 8.

 

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