November 30, 2022
K-State staff receive Outstanding Research to Practice Award
Jodi Kaus, director of Powercat Financial, and HanNa Lim, assistant professor of personal financial planning, received an Outstanding Research to Practice Award at the 2022 Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education Symposium on Nov. 17 in Orlando. The award was sponsored by National Endowment for Financial Education.
The title of the project was "Evaluation on the Effectiveness of College Financial Success Plan." The purpose of the project is to help returning freshmen determine a personal plan for paying the costs of obtaining their undergraduate degree. The project launched in spring 2020 and was implemented again in spring 2022. Overall, participants reported that the College Financial Success Plan process and resources were extremely useful. Through the plan process, participants reported that they are likely to reduce the amount of student loan borrowing and know more about how much student loan debt they can afford. When examining changes between before and after the College Financial Success Plan program, knowledge about student loans was increased and financial stress and anxiety were decreased after the College Financial Success Plan session. The findings provide insights for financial educators or counselors working in higher education, as well as financial practitioners who work with families with college-age children.
The College Financial Success Plan is being incorporated into current financial well-being programming with Powercat Financial and collaboration efforts with various campus partners, including the zero credit-hour financial well-being courses offered via the College of Business and College of Health and Human Sciences, K-State First courses, Office of Student Success programs and Housing and Dining Services’ workshops.