Promoting Financial Literacy for College Students | From the Bell Tower
Entrepreneurial-minded academic libraries looking to provide unique services to students may want to consider offering guidance on financial literacy Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Jun 23, 2011
No academic librarian would think twice about the value of designing an information literacy initiative to help students improve their research skills. There's also growing acceptance that academic librarians should play a role in helping campus community members improve their visual literacy, media literacy, and other skill areas required by multimedia savvy students and researchers. In turn, few of us would give much thought to our academic library leading on campus to develop and deliver workshops on financial literacy. According to a 2009 BusinessWeek article, "financial illiteracy in America is getting serious attention from universities around the country." A few institutions are cited for offering their students financial seminars, but the vast majority of college students have no access to financial workshops on campus.
Part of lifelong learning
Many academic libraries include something along the lines of "create students who are lifelong learners" in the mission statement. With more students taking on extreme debt, working part-time through college, and graduating into a world of fragile financial systems, it's likely they will need to do far better with their financial skills than their research ones. Despite this need, it's reasonable to question if academic libraries are the appropriate campus entity to sponsor financial literacy education. What if no one else is making the effort? If there's a need to be filled, and we are already well equipped to deliver literacy instruction, why not go for it? As I said in a recent column, "Achieving sustainability requires academic librarians to be opportunistic and capitalize on delivering the services the campus community needs but which no one else currently offers."
Who's providing financial literacy education?
Definitely not academic librarians. There are libraries currently offering financial literacy programming, but virtually all of them are public libraries. Yet I know of at least one academic library helping students learn the value of saving accounts, how to avoid credit card rip-offs, and that it's never to early to start thinking retirement plans. At a regional conference I attended a lightning talk in which a librarian described starting a financial literacy program at her institution. It was a hit with students.
The question of who should teach such a workshop came up. If most of you are like me, giving financial advice to students would help them about as much as giving them medical advice. What I learned at this talk is that there are any number of possible experts in the community who may be willing to partner with the library. That can include local bankers or alumni working in the finance industry.
Doing them a disservice
In a recent essay about what he thought students needed to know about finances, Steven Bahls, president of Augustana College, identified several areas of weakness in his college's graduates. Many were poorly equipped to establish a structured budget to get them through a month of expenses. Managing student debt is a critical issue. Students needed to know how to realistically approach paying off their loans. Yet other students feel inadequately equipped, despite their educations, to deal with bosses, co-workers, and workplace issues. Bahls asked "Why then do so many recent graduates seem unable to demonstrate sound decision-making in an area as fundamental as finances and entering the work world?"
Just as with any form of literacy there are those who will ask why colleges and universities should be taking responsibility. Particularly with financial matters, a case could be made that students should learn the basics of finance from their parents long before they get to college. The reality is that it students come to higher education with too little financial sensibility. Just look back to the credit card abuses that students used to suffer, mostly because they simply paid little attention to the consequences of credit card debt. It took action by the federal government to bring it to a halt. At a minimum students should be learning how to avoid being victimized by financial scams.
Library education they'll remember
You may agree in principle that colleges and universities should offer students financial literacy education. You might be less certain if this responsibility should sit with the academic library. It is a stretch beyond our basics, but if it helps to bring in more students to the library—and students clearly indicate they understand the value of financial literacy—it could lead to the building of many new relationships.
Beyond that perhaps we should accept financial literacy as another form of critical thinking that is improved through the wise consumption of information. A huge problem in financial planning is the overwhelming amount of content and advice available. How do you know who to listen to or what actions to take? It's the ultimate information challenge, and the consequences of the decisions can be life altering. Even now students are being advised to consider the life-long implications of their college decisions. Want to become a parent or homeowner by the time you are 30? Better make good choices about the debt you take on or even the major you choose.
Academic librarians seek to contribute to students' college experience in memorable ways. If we could help our students begin their journey on the path to financial security it could end up being what they most remember about their library experience.
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Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, will be the incoming vice president/president-elect of ACRL. For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his website. |
