Kent State is introducing CashCourse, a financial literacy
tool, to help students improve their financial well-being.

Kent State University and the Kent State Alumni Association — with help from CashCourse®, an online resource from the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE) — are taking a proactive approach to improving students’ financial well-being. Kent State recently joined the more than 700 colleges and universities across the U.S. that are using CashCourse, a free, unbiased and noncommercial financial education solution for students and recent graduates.

Meeting a Critical Need
At a time when they are living away from the guidance of their parents, many college students make unwise financial decisions because they are uninformed and overwhelmed. Students are confronted with access to credit cards, financial aid and spending decisions that can go far beyond tuition, housing and food. Several studies have shown that many students worry about their financial well-being. Further, financial stress has been shown to increase low-academic performance, student attrition and lower levels of wellness among students. A growing concern over these issues has led to the joint effort between the National Endowment for Financial Education and Kent State to fill the gaps in financial knowledge that many college students have. CashCourse offers a reliable resource to help students develop financial know-how. Through attention to the needs of today’s college students, CashCourse can help students gain the financial savvy they need to succeed in life at college and beyond.

Tools for Financial Know-How
CashCourse features unbiased content with no advertising and no connections to commercial entities. The information is written in a way college students can understand and appreciate because the National Endowment for Financial Education received input directly from college students to determine what information they would find useful.

In addition to articles, the online resource features:

• Worksheets, calculators and quizzes for students to use in the classroom or at home
• A “Budget Wizard” tool to help students manage their spending
• Valuable information about Federal Financial Aid issues, including repayment information
• An online dictionary of financial terms to help students understand the basics
• A credit module to educate students on the importance of managing credit cards and protecting their credit
• Many resources for college and university professionals to promote and use CashCourse with their students
  

The website can be accessed directly at www.cashcourse.org/kentstate. The resources offered on the site are available to the entire university community. Faculty and staff also have access to several different, easy-to-use customizable workshop kits and other material related to budgeting, credit cards, money management skills, identify theft prevention, valuable information for parents and much more.

“We hope that the university community will take advantage of the various resources available on the site to supplement or enhance the value of the financial education materials they are currently providing to students. Together we can help our students become financially independent, confident and responsible citizens,” says Stina Olafsdottir, manager in the Bursar’s Office at Kent State. “We also hope that departments will be able to add a link to CashCourse (www.cashcourse.org/kentstate) on their websites to help us promote it to the university community.”

For more information about CashCourse, including access to the workshop kits, contact Olafsdottir at kolafsdo@kent.edu or 330-672-0880.

For more information about the CashCourse program, visit www.cashcourse.org.

The National Endowment for Financial Education is an independent nonprofit organization committed to inspiring empowered financial decision making for individuals and families through every stage of life. To learn more, visit www.nefe.org.