The national financial education effort was coordinated by the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition, a diverse group of close to 100 Nebraska organizations working together to promote personal financial literacy. Various departments and organizations across all three SCC campuses planned activities to help SCC students become more “money smart.”
“There is a great need for college students to become more aware of their spending habits, financial aid, taxes, and other relevant personal finance-related issues, and this was one way SCC helped meet that need,” said Shawna Kolbek, director of SCC’s TRiO/Student Support Services programs.
On the Beatrice Campus, personnel in TRIO SSS, the Student Senate and the Financial Aid Office collaborated to provide students opportunities to meet professionals in the local community and ask questions related to their field of expertise. Each time a student attended a workshop, their name was entered into a drawing for a scholarship and other prizes. One-hour workshops were provided Monday through Thursday on the following:
Financial Aid provided individual counseling on student loans, grants, scholarships, and other financial aid options; students were informed about the importance of having a checking and savings account; vehicle, house and life insurance was discussed; and a session on the “How-to’s of Investing” was held.
On the Lincoln Campus, TRIO SSS, Students in Free Enterprise, the Financial Aid Office, the Learn to Dream Scholarship staff, Student Activities and Union Bank & Trust worked together to plan a wide variety of activities for Lincoln students, including:
“Do You Think Like a Millionaire” quiz bowl. Participants also received handouts on making smart financial decisions.
Taxes: What Every Student Needs to Know. Tax experts and community volunteers from the IRS and the Nebraska Tax Coalition were available to answer questions. Students learned about free tax services and how proper tax filing can benefit students and young families.
A game of “Jeopardy” was held for all SCC students. Questions covered basic financial education and financial aid topics. There were three different rounds with each winner receiving a scholarship.
At the “Budgeting for Food” workshop, students learned how to plan meals to save time and money and how to use limited resources to prepare nutritious and safe foods while stretching food dollars.
A “Financial Aid Day” was held, where SCC Financial Aid staff answered questions at the day-long workshop on loans, work-study, scholarships, and warning/suspension questions.
And the Student Activities staff teamed with Union Bank & Trust personnel on a “Credit Counseling” session. Students received tips on making wise borrowing decisions, learned what steps to take in getting borrowing under control and how proper debt can help achieve dreams.
On the Milford Campus, TRIO SSS, Student Activities, Phi Beta Lambda, the Business Administration program, and many other campuses offices collaborated to plan campus wide activities. Each time a student participated in an event, their name was entered into a scholarship drawing.
Activities included “Financial Football,” which was hosted by the Business Administration program, where students played the computerized game for a wide variety of prizes; “Money Facts Scavenger Hunt” was hosted by Student Activities, where students visited 15 different campus offices and programs to collect “money facts.” Students were then able to use those facts in the trivia game culminating the week. A Trivia Game was hosted by Phi Beta Lambda, where students answered finance-related trivia facts for a chance to spin the wheel for prizes. And “Student Survey” was hosted by TRIO. Students responded to a variety of finance-related questions on a computer-based survey.