If you’re one of the millions of college students or parents facing the burden of college tuition, I bet you perked up when you heard President Obama reiterate his commitment to keeping college tuition prices and student loan debt in check during his State of the Union address last week. He reminded us that “At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt…higher education can’t be a luxury – it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”
One way to support that economic imperative is by helping students develop the financial literacy and credit savvy needed to navigate the burden of higher education after they graduate – and we’ve found that the best way to do this is to engage students and have them teach each other.
I’m talking about our Are You Credit Wise? financial program. It’s a campus-based education program that harnesses the power of peer-to-peer engagement to provide money management information for college students.
Over time we’ve learned that it’s more helpful to college students to learn about certain topics — like money management – from their peers, rather than a parent, professor or administrator. And our interns are incredible – connecting with more than 520,000 students at over 80 colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada since the program began over 12 years ago.
This year’s class continued to wow us with their ability to connect with their peers about the fundamentals of good credit habits—reading and understanding credit reports, the responsible use of payment cards and building and maintaining a solid credit history. Just look at these numbers: our nine interns hosted 50 presentations at universities and community colleges across the country, reaching more than 1,000 students. Pretty impressive. They published op-eds and engaged with their school newspapers. Some interns participated in campus radio shows and one was even featured on John Hope Bryant’s “Operation HOPE” blog.
We think that’s a job well done.
If you’re interested in learning more about the program and its work in your area, please feel free to leave a comment, reach me here or visit here.
Categories: Making Life Easier, News and Views