Mississippi State University’s project will use a variety of content and delivery methods designed to engage a broad population of students, including traditional, face-to-face lecture-based courses; hands-on web app design, development, testing, and distribution; “road show” modular workshops to be delivered face-to-face at student organization and group meetings; group discussions at PFF meetings; one-on-one counseling; and online modules and videos. Financial literacy training will be delivered broadly to graduate and undergraduate students, while targeting the African American population in particular through numerous student organizations, including MSU Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education (IMAGE) Program, Underrepresented Minority Summer Research Program, Men of Excellence, and IDEAL Woman.

Project plan and activities:

The project team will develop a financial literacy smartphone web application that will include several components related to financial literacy, including a variety of calculators, assessment tools, and links to other relevant information. After development and testing, the app will be available from the iTunes App store and the Android App Market for free worldwide. Calculators will support “what if” analysis, so the user can see the effect of different interest rates, for instance, or number of payments/contributions, etc.

An online library guide on financial literacy will be compiled for use by the MSU community. The guide will serve as a web portal that provides graduate and undergraduate students access to both locally developed and web-based information on financial literacy and financial management topics.

Part of MSU’s project will be developing a Financial Literacy at Mississippi State website, designated to inform the MSU community about personal finances and include a calendar of financial literacy training events, links to materials, and other resources.

MSU will make significant use of social media to promote upcoming financial literacy events, including newly established Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. Face-to-face workshops will be videotaped and made available via YouTube, allowing dissemination to a broader audience. These workshops for students will focus on topics such as: tips for living economically, how to use credit cards, financing degrees, and maximizing the return on college investment

For graduate students, a personal finance component will be added to Preparing Future Faculty, Graduate Student Association, Black Graduate Student Association, New Graduate Student Orientation, Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week, and several other programs and events.

A new first-year seminar course will introduce college freshmen to all target areas of financial literacy. Students will also be able to consult Career Counseling, conducted by career counselors in the MSU Career Center, for one-on-one counseling on the cost to benefit ratio of graduate education, addressing the key area of long-term planning.