Some college students have complained that their high schools didn’t teach them about personal finances. Now a new program at Central Michigan is trying to do just that.
The Financial Wellness Collaborative puts together the efforts of 20 CMU departments to educate students on topics like student loans, budgeting, and taxes.
Anna Sheufelt is a graduate assistant who’s working on the collaborative. She said the program is important because of the impact it has on students.
“You’re left to figure it out on your own and that’s kind of a disservice to students. So, the fact that it is here, now, you can take the chance to ask questions before it’s too late,” she said. “And, we’ve had folks say, ‘If only I knew.’”
Sheufelt said one program allows students speak to other students about financial wellness.
“We had one student who is actually now a part of our Money Mentor program. She said that had it not been for that presentation and having financial wellness in front of her, that she didn’t think she’d be able to stay in CMU,” she said. “She wanted to join our program and be a money mentor because she wanted to help other students the way we helped her.”
Sheufelt said the impact it has on students is rewarding.
“When we interact with students, one, we can visibly see the weight being lifted off of their shoulders, even a little bit,” she said. “That stress that is associated with financial insecurities, that’s really what we’re trying to target. We can’t solve all of their problems but our tagline is, ‘Inspire Confidence.’”
Sheufelt said the collaborative is still new and in the future they’re hoping to expand the program to high school students and alumni.