FAMU receives $40K CGS/TIAA-CREF grant

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has awarded FAMU a $40,000 grant by to participate as a
research partner in the initiative “Enhancing Student Financial Education.” Fifteen grants were awarded as part of the CGS best practice program, co-sponsored by TIAA-CREF.

The FAMU SFE Program will train and mentor graduate students across a variety of disciplines to conduct research in the areas of financial literacy, debt management, paying for college, and financial decision-making within minority and low-income communities.

During the two-year program, a graduate student from each of the Business Administration, Counseling Education, and Community Psychology programs will work with faculty members to assist staff from the FAMU Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to deliver the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) financial education program in the SFE seminars and workshops.  These three graduate fellows will work with their faculty mentors to conduct the research and disseminate their findings via conference presentations, proceedings, and manuscripts that will be submitted for publication.

By surveying and measuring the effectiveness of each school's programming, the project will enable CGS to develop best practices for improving financial education among college students and graduate students. These findings will be made widely available to the higher education community through interactive tools and resources over the next two years.

The selection of awardees was made through a competitive proposal process involving an independent selection committee of experts in higher education reforms and financial education. Additional institutions selected to receive funding include, Cornell University, University of Colorado System, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Kentucky; and University of South Florida. An additional 19 universities will participate in the project as affiliate partners.

"By working together, universities and the private sector are uniquely well-positioned to provide students with the tools and resources they need to effectively manage their financial futures," said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF. "Working with CGS, we are proud to partner with schools across the nation to help put students on a path toward fiscal responsibility and financial well-being."

Data collection for the project will begin October 2013 with a baseline survey of student financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.