Higher One, a leader in providing financial services and data analytics to more than 1,900 college and university campuses across the U.S., is pleased to announce 15 recipients of its Financial Literacy Counts grant program. A total of $50,000 will be distributed to winning colleges and universities in the program’s fifth year, which saw more than 125 applications from two- and four-year public and private institutions across the country.
The grant program is an integral part of Higher One’s $tart with Change financial literacy initiative, which aims to help students make smarter everyday financial decisions and put them in control of a successful financial future. $tart With Change addresses the challenges of providing students with relevant and engaging financial education opportunities through its technological product offerings and services, student blog, resources and contests, grant support, and many other programs.
“Higher One launched the Financial Literacy Counts grant program to provide institutions with funding for critical financial literacy awareness campaigns, workshops, online financial literacy tools and other activities and resources that promote financial capability among college students and provide opportunities to increase students’ personal financial management skills and abilities,” said Mary Johnson, vice president of financial literacy and student aid policy at Higher One. “ Our mission is to help college students become financially capable by providing needed resources and promoting effective initiatives on campuses.”
The 15 colleges and universities selected to receive Financial Literacy Counts grants include:
- Boise State University
- East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
- Gateway Technical College
- Gonzaga University
- Middle Georgia State University
- Sam Houston State University
- Santa Fe College
- Southeastern Oklahoma State University
- Stanford University
- SUNY Oneonta
- The College of St. Scholastica
- University of Houston, Downtown
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Washington & Jefferson College
- William Jessup University
Grant recipients were selected based on their high levels of student involvement in planning and execution, quality and creativity of the grant’s approach, and impact on the greatest percentage of students on campus. This year’s winning programs include an array of activities, such as a student-led financial awareness campaign at Boise State University; a series of financial literacy videos specifically for first-year students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University; a weeklong financial literacy workshop at Stanford University; and a “near-peer” mentorship program at Washington & Jefferson College that matches college students with local high school students to teach how money works in the real world.
Further, this year’s grant recipients feature a number of peer financial coaching/mentoring programs, including Gateway Technical College, Gonzaga University, Middle Georgia State University, Sam Houston State University, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The third-year results of Money Matters on Campus, a survey of 43,000 college students across the U.S., found that students are taking out more and larger student loans, yet report feeling less prepared to manage their money than any other aspect of college life—and that campus-based financial literacy education programs should use innovative approaches to address attitudinal, behavioral and demographic differences among students.
About Higher One
Higher One (NYSE: ONE) partners with colleges and universities to lower their administrative costs and to improve graduation rates. We provide a broad array of payment, refund disbursement and data analytics and management tools to institutions that help them save money and enhance institutional effectiveness. And for students, we offer financial literacy programs and convenient, flexible and affordable transaction options to help them manage their finances. Higher One’s products and services support more than 1,900 schools and approximately 13 million enrolled students. More information about Higher One can be found at www.higherone.com.