Annual award recognizes outstanding financial literacy programs for postsecondary students.

(April 28, 2008) - National Student Loan Program is pleased to announce that the University of Virginia in Charlottesville is the 2008 winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award, which recognizes outstanding financial literacy programs by postsecondary schools.

"We want to recognize the University of Virginia’s commitment to helping students learn how to make sound financial decisions that will help them achieve their dreams," says NSLP President Randy Heesacker. "And thank them for taking action to address the ever-increasing need for personal financial education among today’s college students."

In 2005, the university began evaluating and phasing in a comprehensive, structured financial education program to teach students and their families money management skills. Financial education is part of the school’s Access UVa program - a financial aid program that encourages socio-economic diversity within the student body.

"We are very proud to receive NSLP’s Benjamin Franklin Award recognizing our financial education component of Access UVa," says Yvonne Hubbard, Director of Student Financial Services "We want our students to understand how financial decisions have the ability to impact their lives not only while they are students, but also as they move into the workplace. We want them to learn how to make decisions to maximize their financial success."

The university’s successful program includes several components, which evolved from an initial assessment of the financial knowledge of their first-year and fourth-year students to determine what students needed most.

• A "Money Matters" brochure was created for new undergraduate students and their parents, which includes "how-to’s" on budgeting, opening a bank account, using credit cards wisely, managing debt, and where to find helpful financial management resources.
• The university partnered with the National Student Loan Program, Bank of America, and Experian, a national credit reporting agency, to provide workshops for first-year students on budgeting, using credit cards wisely, debt management, consumer rights, and managing their credit history. Students learned how to interpret their credit information. Pre- and post-tests measured the financial knowledge of the students, which enabled the university to gauge the program’s success.
• The university has successfully incorporated financial education into other on-campus events and classes. New students who arrive on campus in the summer to get a head start on fall classes are given the financial education program as part of their larger summer program. The university also learned the best way to present workshops is to partner with student organizations.
• New students must successfully complete a "safe computing" test before they can access the campus network. As part of this test, the university quizzes students about identity theft, how to know the warning signs of identity theft and what to do if they become victims. This introduces students to a financial literacy topic. After the quiz, students are given links to several resources where they can learn more about preventing identity theft.
• University students can also use NSLP’s Financial Literacy Online (www.nslpflonline.org), a series of six free, online courses on budgeting, contracts, credit, credit history, identity theft and education finance; or access CashCourse, an online financial education resource from the National Endowment for Financial Education.
• Students also have access to one-on-one financial counseling provided by the university’s Student Financial Services staff, who completed an intensive training program to become Accredited Financial Counselors through the AFCPE. The university partnered with NSLP to offer the certification program and help staff complete the course requirements.

In addition to on-going evaluation and adaptations to make the program even more widely accessible for students, the university’s "Hoo’s for Open Access" student group will also help determine the next steps for augmenting the program and making it even more meaningful for students.

NSLP established the Benjamin Franklin Award to recognize outstanding financial literacy programs by postsecondary schools. The award is given to one school annually in conjunction with Financial Literacy Awareness Month in April. Financial literacy programs are evaluated on four key areas of creativity, quality, effectiveness and sustainability. Applications for the 2009 award are due December 31. Schools are not required to use NSLP’s products to be eligible for the award.

For more information about NSLP visit www.nslp.org.

Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, the National Student Loan Program is a private, nonprofit corporation with over 20 years of experience as a student loan guaranty agency. NSLP works with lenders and post-secondary schools across the nation to help students gain access to low-cost student loans. With annual loan guarantees of over $2.6 billion, NSLP is one of the nation’s major guaranty agencies and continues to serve as the designated guaranty agency for Nebraska.

Posted 04/29/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.