The IU Office of Financial Literacy and its program, MoneySmarts, are working to develop a new platform through which students can access information and make educated decisions regarding their finances and education.
Through the efforts of the MoneySmarts program, IU has been able to reduce almost $100 million of student loan debt, a press release from IU Newsroom said. The new platform, called MoneySmarts U, was designed to produce more information regarding financial literacy that is accessible to all students. Juniors and seniors in high school, undergraduate and graduate college students, and recently graduated alumni will all be able to access the program.
“It’s going to teach you the basics of good financial topics,” said Phil Schuman, director of financial literacy at IU.
A partnership between the Office of Financial Literacy and Peter Dunn has helped produce this platform. According to the press release, Dunn is considered an expert on financial wellness. The available information will be arranged in ways most relevant for students based on where they are in their careers, Schuman said.
“We don’t expect you to be there for 60 minutes,” he said. “Go on there for five to 10 minutes, and then go on your merry way.”
According to the press release, there will be seven instructional modules released every year for three years, with each module being about 45 minutes to an hour in length. The platform will have about 80 videos for students to watch and interactive tools like calculators, downloads and other exercises for them to use, Schuman said.
“We’re trying to address the different types of student learners that we have,” he said.
Schuman described the platform’s key feature as being a just-in-time element, allowing students to use the information, accessible through Canvas, whenever they need it, instead of delivering all of it in one large chunk.
“This is not something that we expect students to go in and digest it all at once,” Schuman said. “A, because it would be boring, and, B, because it wouldn’t stick with them.”
The MoneySmarts U Score is one aspect of the platform that is still in the works. This feature will allow the user to progress from the beginning of the program to the end, while entering some personal information, to indicate how good the user’s financial standing is.
“Based on certain metrics, and we haven’t figured it all out, it will tell you how you’re doing and give recommendations of how you can better yourself from where you are,” Schuman said.
The first video, released Jan. 20, for the program features Schuman and Dunn introducing the platform’s courses and the information students can gain from it.
“These courses cover everything from being a junior and senior in high school all the way to a recent grad,” Dunn said in the video. “And the goal in all of this is to make sure people get a great education with as little debt as possible.”
