Univeristy financial literacy groups underutilized

Marlee Case was kicked out of two homes by the time she was 16.

A combination of an abusive stepfather and an angry stepmother has left her financially independent for the past four years, she said.

Like many IU students, the sophomore pays for her own schooling. She does so through a Veterans Affairs stipend from her father’s enlistment in the Air Force, independency claims and of course, loans.

“College was always going to be an option for me,” she said. “I wasn’t never going to go.”

As a youth development major, she hopes to find a job in her hometown of Elkhart, Ind., to help children like her, who didn’t grow up learning about financial literacy.

But the University does not do enough to help students understand money matters, she said.

The average student who attends college in Indiana will graduate with $27,500 of debt, according to a press release from MoneySmarts, a program from the IU Office of
Financial Literacy. Debt after graduation increases to $28,434 for IU students.

The Office of Financial Literacy was launched in July 2012, Director of Financial Literacy Phil Schuman said.  

Financial literacy groups across campus have seen limited results in reaching students so far this year.

Money Management workshops are staged in the School of Public Health. The first of seven financial workshops from the school took place last week.

Forty-five chairs were set up for the presentation from Deb Getz, a professor in the School of Public Health. Six people showed up, including Case, and by the end of the
hour-long session, there were only four people remaining.

Topics brought up by the students included student loan debt, which credit cards to apply for and which budgeting apps are most helpful.

This is the third semester the School of Public Health has been host to these
workshops.

“And I’ve been appalled by the lack of knowledge,” Getz said. “The students came in not understanding the difference between a loan and a grant.”

Schuman is also the director of MoneySmarts, which he said is just getting off the ground.

The program consists of peer tutoring sessions, which have been in operation since early September, in Teter, Forest and Briscoe Academic Support Centers.

Schuman said he has students come to him with more general questions about how to reduce their college costs.

“I think they’re coming to us with that general question of how they can just lower their cost while they are at IU,” Schuman said.

Schuman’s group directs them on how to get jobs, how to pay for food and what scholarships to apply for.

Getz’s workshop was the first of seven workshops the School of Public Health will offer this semester. Getz said students always become more conscious of money troubles
later in the semester, and she expects better attendance in the future. She isn’t discouraged by the lack of turnout yet, she said.

But for now, the workshops are mostly empty.

“I think a lot of them aren’t comfortable with where they might go and get assistance or don’t even know that there are people here that understand their concern,” Getz said.

Senior athletic training major Laze Black was one of four students who stayed for the whole session. She said she was surprised there weren’t as many people as she expected. In previous years, the room has been close to capacity, she said.

These workshops aren’t the only avenue for students to gain financial literacy. However, other resources, such as MoneySmarts, don’t appear to be drawing large crowds either.

According to a press release from MoneySmarts, the program has already provided more than one million minutes of financial literacy and personal finance education to students through Buttonwood, the online financial literacy education program.

Students can go to these sessions and ask any questions they might have about their finances. Junior Jonathan Hawkins is one of nine peer advisors for the group.

Hawkins is in Teter every Monday for three hours for students to come in and talk to him. So far, he hasn’t had any people come in.

Hawkins said because the group has just started, they haven’t gotten their name out there yet. He said he thinks this explains the lack of attendance and interest in MoneySmarts.

Schuman said he doesn’t see this as the students having a lack of interest in the group. Instead, he said, the responsibility is on MoneySmarts to get students to come.

MoneySmarts representatives also give talks to resident assistants in other dorms.
Schuman said he hopes the resident assistants will pass along the information to their residents.

The group uses student peers for guidance to relate to the students more.

“Going to college today is much different from when professors and parents went to college,” Hawkins said. “And it’s a lot easier to talk with people your own age.”

Even though students don’t seem to be taking advantage of financial literacy classes, they do have questions.

“I don’t want to say (students) are stupid when it comes to finances,” Schuman said. “But people think students have a lack of financial information. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. I think there’s a lot of talk about it.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.