OATdb Archive

2010 - 2011

Money Management Center

Goal
Financial Literacy Promotion
The SMMC will promote financial literacy education throughout the SHSU community.

Objective
Increase Student Knowledge Of Personal Finance
The Student Money Management Center will develop outreach activities that increase students’ knowledge of personal finance-related topics.

Indicator
Program Assessment
The program assessment results for specified activities will serve as evidence of the successful completion of this objective.

Criterion
Student Knowledge Increased
50% of students who attend Financial Literacy Week 2011 events will indicate a specific piece of personal finance knowledge they learned by attending the Financial Literacy Week event.  This will demonstrate the effectiveness of the Student Money Management Center's outreach events on student learning.

Finding
Student Knowledge
Students who attended Financial Literacy Week 2011 events completed the program survey at the conclusion of each event they attended.  By administering the survey at the events, our survey completion rates dramatically increased from last year to this year.  The survey results show that more than 50% of students who attended Financial Literacy Week 2011 events indicated at least one piece of specific personal finance knowledge that they gained by attending that event.  This demonstrates the effectiveness of the SMMC's outreach programming on student learning.  **Please see attached Excel workbook of the compiled data from each event survey administered.**

Action
Program Assessment For All Programming
The SMMC will administer program surveys at every event and presentation it conducts as part of its outreach programming.  This will indicate the effectiveness of all SMMC outreach programming on student learning, not just Financial Literacy Week.

Goal
Effective Personal Finance Counseling Services
To provide effective personal finance counseling services to SHSU students.

Objective
Increase Student Knowledge During Consultations
The Student Money Management Center's personal one-on-one counseling sessions will increase students' knowledge of personal finance related topics.

Indicator
Consultation Survey 2010
The indicator for this objective will be the Consultation Survey 2010.

Criterion
Students Learn New Personal Finance Information
Students will be able to name at least one personal finance topic they learned during their one-on-one consultation with Money Management Center financial counselors.  This will demonstrate the effectiveness of the Center's consultations on student learning.

Finding
Low Response Rate
Students indicated a high level of satisfaction with consultation services provided. Each respondent also listed at least one financial literacy concept they learned during their one-on-one consultation, which shows the effectiveness of the consultation on increasing student knowledge of personal finance topics.  However a weakness emerged in a significantly low response rate to the online survey.  Only 3 students responded to the survey out of the almost 300 student consultations the Center held during the 2010-2011 academic year.  **Please see attached survey results for further details.**


Action
Immediate Assessment
The SMMC will administer brief consultation surveys to students at the conclusion of their consultation appointments instead of sending the online survey in the thank you emails.  It will be a simple one question survey asking the student what they learned.  This will provide a higher response rate and thus better show the effectiveness of the consultation on student learning.

Objective
Peer Counselors Achieve Certified Personal Finance Counseling (CPFC)
The Student Money Management Center's peer counselors will achieve professional certification as certified personal financial counselors through the Institute for Financial Literacy, in order to provide SHSU students with effective personal finance counseling services.

Indicator
Certificate Of Completion
The indicator for this objective is the Center for Financial Certifications Certificates of Completion for each member of the peer counseling team.

Criterion
Certification Achieved
Each member of the SMMC's peer counselor team will achieve personal finance counselor certification this year and become Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC®).

Finding
All Peer Counselors On Staff Are Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC)
All three peer counselors completed the certification process and have been awarded Certificates of Completion indicating they are now Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC).  This certification allows the peer counselors to more effectively counsel students, as they now have a more extensive and complete knowledge of personal finance and counseling techniques.  **Please see attached copies of certificates.**

Action
Objective Complete
This objective has been completed.  However, in order to both maintain the certification as well as keep up-to-date with all personal finance and counseling techniques, the peer counselors will complete 20 hours of approved continuing education courses in personal financial counseling over the next two years.  This will provide more effective counseling for SHSU students, since the peer counselors will have extensive knowledge in these areas.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

Plan for continuous improvement As a result of the programming assessment during Financial Literacy Week 2011, the SMMC will administer program surveys at every outreach event it conducts in the coming academic years.  Assessment at all SMMC education outreach events will determine the effectiveness of such programming on student learning.  In addition, the SMMC will make changes to the Financial Literacy Week line-up of events for the 2011-2012.  The SMMC determined through the student program surveys, that some guest speakers such as the Financial Aid speaker was rated low by attendees.  The SMMC will seek out more engaging speakers.

In regards to the Center's objective to increase student learning of personal finance topics through its consultation services, in the future the SMMC will conduct immediate assessment upon consultation completion.  This is due to its low survey response rate findings.  The SMMC believes this change will provide a more complete picture and thus better assessment of the effects of consultations on student learning of personal finance topics.

Finally, all counselors (professional and peer) have achieved certification as (CPFC's) Certified Personal Finance Counselors through the Institute for Financial Literacy.  This certification has allowed the counselors a more extensive, expansive and complete knowledge of not only personal finance topics, issues and techniques, but counseling techniques as well thus providing more effective counseling to SHSU students.  However, although continued training and education in the financial literacy field is of the utmost importance, the SMMC will not include this as a goal in the upcoming year.  This goal will be retired since it is now complete.