Partnership to boost students’ financial survival skills

Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) is partnering with the School of Human Ecology at UW–Madison to meet the growing demand for resources to help college students boost their financial survival skills.

The two organizations have entered into an agreement to develop a course to prepare students to make wise financial choices in college and beyond.

Michael Gutter, UW–Madison consumer science professor and co-director of the school’s Center for Financial Security, is overseeing the development of the new course and related resources, with assistance from graduate students in the School of Human Ecology and input and financial support from Great Lakes.

“The need for personal finance education has never been greater,” says Gutter. “College students are often just beginning their lifetime journey of money management and are experiencing this freedom and responsibility with often little training. Every semester we have to turn away students interested in our basic personal finance class. This new School of Human Ecology class will not only focus on improving students’ understanding of personal finance basics, it will use personalized activities in an endeavor to improve their own money management behavior.”

The course will be piloted on the Madison campus during the spring 2006 semester. To measure the course’s effectiveness in benefiting students, changes in participating students’ financial knowledge, awareness, and behaviors will be evaluated both during and after the course, and then compared with financial behaviors of students who did not take the course.

“Great Lakes is pleased to be expanding its partnership with the University of Wisconsin,” said Richard D. George, President and CEO. “Like the university, Great Lakes is a forward-thinking nonprofit organization committed to helping students tap the power of higher education. We are particularly excited about the research element of the course development-while an increase in knowledge is certainly important, a positive change in student behavior is the ultimate goal.”

For more information about the financial survival skills course or the many other ways Great Lakes is investing in student success, please contact Amy Kerwin, Chief Guaranty Officer, at (608) 246-1785.