LendEDU, a website that helps consumers learn about and compare financial products, including student loans, has released its fourth annual report that recognizes the top 50 financial literacy programs in the country, and the program at Southern was featured in the top 50 for 2020. This the fourth consecutive year Southern’s program is nationally ranked.
The institutions were not ranked, but are listed in alphabetical order.
Southern has made financial literacy a priority by helping students pay for college. Students learn payment plan options as well as financial aid and scholarship opportunities through one-on-one advising, presentations, and resources.
A goal is to embed responsibility by providing strategies for short- and long-term financial obligations. Over 100 annual workshops such as Paying for College, $mart Money Management, Financial Aid 101, Credit Talk$, Budget Talk$, Scholarship Talk$, Life After College, and Loan Repayment Talk$ provide students with tools for successful personal finance. More than 4010 individual financial plans have been created and aligned with academic goals for timely degree completion.
Lew DeLuca, coordinator of Student Financial Literacy & Advising at Southern, says, “Financial literacy has always been an email or phone call away for a timely and comprehensive response in addition to in person and walk-in appointments. During the COVID challenges, those appointments have obviously been virtual but still extremely effective. No matter the circumstances, Financial Literacy’s commitment to excellence and support will always be there for any current, prospective, and alumni students and their families to support paying for college and all other financial literacy needs.”
Financial literacy, especially as it relates to college financing decisions, is more important now than ever before because of the economic impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on so many American households, according to the LendEDU website.
To compile the fourth annual rankings, hundreds of financial literacy programs were rated on three things: (1) the number of workshops and resources available; (2) access to one-on-one financial consultation; (3) incentivizing programs available.
