Financial Literacy Workshop Implementing Your Program Module 4

Financial Literacy Workshop Implementing Your Program Module 4 of 4 DRAFT

Workshop Objectives Discuss steps and identify needs for program implementation • Examine and establish mechanisms for successful roll-out • Customize and finalize your action plan • 2

Steps for Program Implementation • • • 3 Review and refine the program Cascade your action plan Put mechanisms in place to implement the plan Fund the program Track performance, fine-tune, and expand

Review and Refine the Program Finalize goals of your program • Strengths you plan to utilize • Type of program you will implement • Materials and resources • 4

“Cascade” Your Action Plan • • Obtain resources and materials Staffing needs Training needs Delivery mechanisms Scheduling Communication Measurement 5

Obtain Resources and Materials Will you develop new materials, or use existing? • Are you using one resource, or multiple? • How will you organize your materials? • 6

Staffing Recruit a program development and rollout team Identify all the roles that will need coverage Involve team early for commitment and buy-in Specify who’s doing what Establish tasks and accountability Specify decision-making authority • • • 7

Staffing Options - Build Your Team 8

Recruit Existing Staff Financial aid professionals Office of student affairs Career center Student business services Residence life Admissions staff Enrollment office Student health services Academic Deans Office of the President • • • 9

Get Institutional Buy-in Academic Deans • Office of the President • Office of student affairs • 10

Network and Create Partnerships • • • Alumni groups Student organizations Business schools Athletic organizations Local businesses • • • Financial advisors Banks Insurance companies Non-profit groups • Local and state government agencies • 11

Maintain Active Servicer Relationships Partner with Federal Loan Servicers • Servicers have a wealth of products and services they can make available • Can involve them in face-to-face meetings on campuses • Early and frequent servicer communication is key to default prevention 12

Assemble Volunteers and Interns Peer-to-peer coaching has proven very successful • Individual volunteers from the community • Interns need experience • 13

Benefits of Staffing With Volunteers • • • People relate to peers with shared experiences Positive role models exhibiting practical & worthwhile behaviors encourages the same Those with positive peer-to-peer counseling experiences often are willing to counsel others Provides beneficial skill development for counselors Skills acquired by coach can be applicable to careers: • • • 14 Social Worker Certified Financial Planner Career Planner Accountant Teacher

Training Your Staff 15

Training Concerns to be Addressed • Identify roles and determine best method(s) of training • • • Who will train staff How often will staff be trained What training method(s) will work best Where can training take place Assign authority and accountability 16

Training Methods for Staff • Live training • • • Lectures Small group sessions Interactive sessions “Brown bag” sessions Online • • Webinar Self-paced learning maps on website Videos • Train-the-trainer • Certification • 17

Delivery Mechanisms & Requirements • • • Access and availability of physical location(s) Content production and distribution Procedures and channels for managing access and communications Technical administration and support Fees, approvals and certifications Troubleshooting: Identify anything that can go wrong! 18

Scheduling Identify key scheduling constraints and requirements for program components • Backtrack to identify milestones and dependencies • Correlate the program schedule with your school’s academic calendar • Start small! • 19

Communication Planning Review your program’s audiences and key stakeholders. • What are their primary drivers and concerns? • What messages are needed? When? • What input would be useful? How will you collect it? Remember, communication is a two way street. 20

Develop Your Messages Use your target audience profile(s) to develop a message map. • What does each audience think and feel about topics you plan to offer? • What key behaviors do you wish to reinforce? • What messages will be most compelling to each? • When will specific messages resonate the strongest? 21

Funding Options 22

Funding: University Resources • Administrative Budget • • • This looks different from school to school Look for cost-effective ways to get out the message Initial cost in setting up but then lowcost to maintain Look for local talent willing to volunteer time and services Fundraising Activities • • 23 Community groups Alumni

Funding: Outside Resources • Government • • Non-government • • 24 Resources available at state and federal levels Local businesses and community groups Free resources

Cost-Effective Ways to Implement Programs • • • Use free resources Take advantage of in-house experience Online resources center Social networking to promote services Peer counseling • • Student volunteers Student-run organizations Treat financial literacy as necessary part of student and community services • Partner with community • 25

Develop Program Measures • Establish metrics • • Define objectives that are specific and measurable Identify outcomes and indicators Set timeline to track progress • Develop processes to measure performance • • Quantitative Surveys • Pre-tests and post-tests • Follow-ups • • 26 Qualitative

Implement in a Cycle Implement program in stages • Assess and acknowledge progress • o Celebrate successes! o Document and assess challenges Reevaluate and refine program goals for sustainability • Update and revise action plan • Make necessary logistical adjustments • Expand institutionalize • 27

What to Expect Next Put your plan into place • Monitor progress • Evaluate results and adjust • 28

Tools for this Module • 29 Action Planning Document for Module 4

FSA Resource List for Workshop FSA Website https: //studentaid. ed. gov/ • FSA Financial Aid Toolkit http: //financialaidtoolkit. ed. gov/tk/ • FSA Power. Points: • • • Financial Literacy Power. Point Financing Your Education Loan Counseling Tools White House Financial Capability Toolkit 30