Financial Education

Developing High Impact Programs for Students

The Council of Graduate Schools and TIAA joined forces with leading universities to conduct research on their students' financial challenges and to develop innovative student financial education programs. This site is a snapshot of the findings and best practices from the full report.
  • Read the Full Report
Student loan debt will reach
$2 trillion by 2022.
That’s a lot of money.
2 trillion dollars is more than the GDP of
Brazil, Canada, Italy, or South Korea.
2 trillion dollars is more than the GDP of Brazil, Canada, Italy, or South Korea.
Source: Student Loan Debt, 2015 Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Learn More
PAGE 14
Only 17 states have formal High
School financial education programs.
Source: 2016 Council of Economic Education
55% of Students
reported having
0% exposure
to financial education
If students are undereducated about managing their personal finances, they will be underprepared to responsibly manage their student loans, and that’s 100% true.
Learn More
PAGE 2, 13

Financial stress threatens student success

Higher education supports our economy, promotes innovation, and advances the careers of degree holders. But students overwhelmed by debt or other financial challenges may not pursue or complete advanced degrees. Minority and low-income students borrow the most.
Higher education supports our economy, promotes innovation, and advances the careers of degree holders. But students overwhelmed by debt or other financial challenges may not pursue or complete advanced degrees.
Minority and low-income students borrow the most.
Enrolled Students Who Borrowed Toward Graduate Education
Source: 2014 CGS Financial Standing Survey
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PAGE 19, 79
Debt isn’t ALL bad.
Advanced educational degrees have positive effects on students’ careers and financial development. This makes education a sound investment in the long term, so long as students are aware of what it will take to responsibly manage their debt.
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PAGE 15
“The students I know have a lot of fear around finances. Programs like this one are really needed.”
- Ph.D. Candidate

Give students what they want!

Research has shown that students are interested in a large array of financial matters and have a desire to learn more about financial education programs.
Learn More
PAGE 23
Common strategies that can make a big impact
Orientation
Presentations, workshops, courses and seminars
Peer counseling and
financial consultation
Webinars, podcasts,
and videos
Websites and online
financial education resources
Games and Contests
Learn More
PAGE 39

Tips on creating effective programs

  • - Collaborate with on-campus and off-campus partners to develop engaging and relevant content.

  • - Appeal to both undergraduate and graduate students' financial concerns.

  • - Make content available online and in-person to reach the largest number of students.

  • - Collaborate with departments and campus media to reach students. Consider partnerships with financial experts to address student interest in long-term savings and investments.

  • - Inform presenters about the degree levels and backgrounds of students to help ensure content is tailored to the audience.

  • - Promote student awareness of online federal resources.

Learn More Page 41, 34
GradSense.org
This tool helps students navigate the following points of debt and financial management:

  • - Helps current and prospective students explore debt levels and salary ranges for different degrees and fields.

  • - Shows students the long-term impact of common daily or weekly spending decisions.

  • - Enables users to budget for common student expenses.

  • - Allows students to explore real salary data by occupation.

View GradSense.org

Research Partners

  • Arkansas State University
  • Cornell University
  • Eastern Illinois University
  • Florida A&M University
  • Iowa State University
  • Kansas State University
  • Loyola University Chicago
  • Mississippi State University
  • The Ohio State University
  • University of Colorado
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Kentucky
  • University of Maryland,Baltimore County
  • University of South Florida
  • Winthrop University
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