In efforts to educate students on financial literacy, URI partners with the Western Community Credit Union. PHOTO CREDIT: uri.edu
The University of Rhode Island has partnered with the Westerly Community Credit Union to launch the Rhody Financial Education Center platform for students to learn more about financial literacy.
There are seven courses and playlists available to students on the Microsoft Office 365 portal, ranging from a wide variety of financial topics from basic information about creating budgets and student debt to information about growing your own small business. There is also an option to take topics and combine them to create personalized financial playlists.
Kimberly Stack, the director of the Center for Career and Experiential Education (CCEE), encouraged students to take advantage of the opportunities and benefits this program offers them.
“When students work with us, we often talk about cost of living and salary connected to cost living and where they want to be working,” Stack said. “What I continue to see is that students struggle with that information. So I had brought a group together and a woman named Kim Gates, who is a financial advisor and educator at Westerly Community Credit Union, and a few [alumni] to talk about their experience moving from college and discussed how we can best support students.”
The CCEE began working on this project before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Stack. They took an additional year to plan what the course would cover and to finalize the contract with the Westerly Community Credit Union. Stack said that she doesn’t want finances to be something that holds students back during their time at URI or after they graduate.
“I think so many students feel like finances are a roadblock to their success, and they are paralyzed by that thought,” Stack said. “Sometimes just that thought and the lack of awareness prevents them from persisting, and I don’t want that to be the reason. So being able to provide students with the resources and the language to understand all of this and that knowledge will help them to make solid choices.”
Stack also explained that some of the topics covered in the program are being worked into URI 101 courses as well. Westerly Community Credit Union is working with many high schools in the state to create a financial literacy program so that students can have more information about their monetary situation before even beginning college.
So far, Stack said Chariho, Narragansett and Westerly high schools have added classes dealing with finances to give students an idea of spending and saving money before going to college.
Jenna Visinho, the career education specialist for the Harrington School of Communication and Media, explained that the program will also be having an in-person event next month with the Credit Union.
“We are going to have tables for each playlist,” Visinho said. “The first part of the session will be introducing students to the program and then students will be broken out evenly at each table. There will also be a ‘top five takeaway’ handout given to students so they don’t have to take crazy notes and they can just be present and take it all in.”
The event will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom.