Gregory P. Valentine University of Southern Indiana

Department of Economics and Finance8600 University Boulevard

Evansville, IN 47712

Katherine M. SauerMetropolitan State College of Denver

Department of EconomicsCampus Box 77 – PO Box 173362

Denver, CO 80217

Daria P. SevastianovaUniversity of Southern Indiana

Department of Economics and Finance8600 University Boulevard

Evansville, IN 47712

The Status of Post-Secondary Personal Finance Courses

 

Why Is Personal Finance Education Important?

Paramount importance of financial literacy in the U.S.

Sparse academic literature

Council on Economic Education and Jump$tart Coalition Surveys

Personal finance education standards at the high school level (44 states)

Need for assessment of the current state of post-secondary personal finance education

Web-based survey administered through the Center for Applied Research at USI

Invitation to participate e-mailed to NABTE representatives and Directors for Centers for Economic Education throughout the country

Objective and open-ended questions about personal finance courses at each institution

Research Design

To assess the status of post-secondary personalfinance education based on:

Type of course Institutional location Course audience Enrollment Course content Instructor demographics Administrative aspects

Goals of the Study

  n %

NABTE SCHOOLS 72 30

CENTER DIRECTORS AFFLIATED WITHTHE COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION

166 70

     

SAMPLE DATA BASE

     

n %NUMBER OR RESPONSES RECEIVED 68 28.5

NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT INDICATETHAT THEIR INSTITUTION DOES NOT OFFER A 4PERSONAL FINANCE COURSE

NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS THAT DID NOTCOMPLETE THE SURVEY 8

NET RESPONSE RATE 25.2

56 RESPONDENTS -- 25 STATES     

RESPONDENTS

Type of Course Offered n %Credit Course 46 82

Non-Credit Course 2 4Workshop 16 29

None 4 7 

Location of Course n %College/School of Business 35 76

College/School of Education 7 15College/School of Liberal Arts 2 4

Continuing Education 2 4Other Area 6 13

     

Table 1: Institutional Information

  YES % NO %

Institutional Level        

counts toward core curriculum or general education 8 17 38 83

School or College Level

counts toward a school/college core requirement 8 17 38 83

Program Level

counts toward major, minor, or area of emphasis 49 88 7 12

requirement for a major 20 65 29 35

requirement for a minor or area of emphasis 6 19 43 81

elective for a major 14 45 35 55

elective for a minor or area of emphasis 9 29 40 71

         

Table 2: Location of Credit Allocation

  Credit Bearing Non-Credit    

  Course Bearing Course Workshop

n % n % n %

Freshman Only 3 7 0 0 1 7.1

Sophomore Only 7 16 0 0 0 0

Junior Only 7 16 0 0 0 0

Senior Only 7 16 0 0 0 0

Open to All Students 32 73 0 0 5 36

University/College Community

0 0 1 50 5 36

All Interested Parties 0 0 1 50 5 36

             

Table 3: Course Audience

     

  YES % NO %Pre-Requisite Information course has a pre-requisite 1 2 43 98 course is a pre-requisite for another course 5 11 40 89

Course Setting traditional classroom setting 40 95 2 5

Assessment pre-test given 4 9 40 91 post-test given 21 47 24 53

Duration whole semester 43 96 0 0 partial semester 2 4 2 100         

Table 4: Administrative Aspects of Credit Bearing Courses

  Credit Bearing Non-Credit    Course Bearing Course Workshop

  n % n % n %Number of Sections Offered

1 19 43 1 50 2 152 13 30 0 0 3 233 6 14 0 0 3 234 6 14 1 50 1 8

5 or more 0 0 0 0 4 32

Number of Students Per Section0-10 6 13 0 0 11 8511-20 9 20 0 0 1 821-30 17 38 1 100 1 831-40 4 9 0 0 0 041-50 5 11 0 0 0 0

Over 50 4 9 0 0 0 0             

Table 5: Enrollment Per Semester

  Credit Bearing Non-Credit    

Topics Course Bearing Course Workshop

percentage of time spent on each topic

Budgeting, Cash Flows 12 15 12

Taxes (Federal/State/Local) 9 10 9

Consumer Credit and Debt Management 14 10 15

Major Purchases (Home/Auto/etc) 10 10 11

Risk Management (Life/Health/Home/Auto) 10 10 11

Investment Fundamentals (Stocks/Bonds/MF) 12 15 15

Financial Decision Making (goals/time value money)

11 10 12

Financial Responsibility 9 10 10

Consumer Rights and Responsibilities 8 10 8

Other Topics 5 0 0

TOTAL 100 100 100

Table 6: Course Content

  n %Rank Adjunct faculty 11 22 Lecturer/Instructor 9 18 Assistant Professor 4 8 Associate Professor 12 24 Full Professor 15 29

Years Teaching Personal Finance 1 – 5 23 44 6 – 10 5 10 11 – 15 3 6 16 – 20 3 6 Over 20 2 4

Gender Female 29 56 Male 23 44     

Table 7: Faculty Demographics

Important Results

Majority of personal finance courses bear credit and are offered within a College/School of Business.

Just over half of the respondents indicate that the course counts towards a major, minor, or an area of emphasis.

The three areas receiving the most course coverage are consumer credit/debt management, budgeting, and investment.

About one third of the courses are taught by full professors and one fifth are taught by adjunct faculty.