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Challenging Higher Education to Meet
Today's Need for Financial Education
Our economy is in a financial crisis. In the last
year, record-high numbers of families defaulted
on mortgages and lost their homes to
foreclosures; credit card debt continues to
increase each year; and hundreds of thousands
of workers have lost their jobs due to company
downsizing and cutbacks. Although the reasons
for these economic concerns are complex, one
contributing factor that cannot be ignored is the
financial illiteracy of many Americans. Multiple
studies have revealed that adults and youth score
low on financial literacy surveys (Hilgert, Hogarth, and Beverly, 2003; Jump$tart, 2008;
Lusardi & Tufano, 2008; NCEE, 2005).
Financial education can make a difference. Click here to read the article
The Compass: Bill Tierney, CHEPA Director
I learned to read, in part, by reading the
newspaper. When I was a little guy, the
New York Times was too big for me to hold,
so I read it on the kitchen floor as my mom
cooked breakfast. I read the baseball scores
to her and celebrated the Dodgers'
triumphs and my older brother's favorite—
the hated Yankees—failures. As I entered
the first grade, I also turned to what was
then the first page of section two and read
her the news highlights. My mother, ever
the teacher, asked a barrage of questions as
she raced around the kitchen making
breakfast. I searched the front page for
answers. Click here to read the article
How are you incorporating financial education on your campus?
In this issue we asked financial aid and personal finance experts Lili Vidal, Leslie Lum, Dottie B. Durband, Cynthia Needles Fletcher, and Shana Hawke-Stanton to respond to the question, “How are you incorporating financial education on your campus?”
Click here to read the article. | |  |
NCCEP/GEAR UP Financial Education Curriculum
With the economy in a significant slow-down, understanding how to manage money has never been more important to Americans. Fortunately for GEAR UP students, the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) have partnered since 2006 to educate them on financial literacy issues. Through this partnership, NEFE has developed websites for GEAR UP students in middle and high school that explain important financial concepts. Click here to read the article.
Community Outreach Programs
Increasing Access via Mentoring Program (I AM) Update)
The USC I AM (Increasing Access via Mentoring) program continues to work with 10 partner high schools within LAUSD in providing one-on-one mentoring to over 100 high school seniors. Through one-on-one mentoring, volunteer faculty, staff, and students from USC, provide students with critical information and support that lead to successful admission to college.
Click here to read more.
Gearing Up for SummerTIME 2009
| CHEPA will host its 8th annual SummerTIME program, a month-long intensive writing seminar designed for high school seniors entering a four-year college or university in the fall, and college-bound high achieving juniors, this July. We will enroll 90 college-accepted seniors and 30 juniors who will apply to colleges this coming fall term. All participants attend high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), but primarily come from schools in East and South Los Angeles where college going rates are traditionally the lowest in the city.
Click here to read the article. |
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Pathfinder U: Adventures on Your Course to College Project Update
Beginning in March and continuing through the spring 2009 semester, 16 high school students from two CHEPA partner schools began collaborating with video game designers in USC’s Center for Digital Media Arts Game Lab as part of the initial stages of the Pathfinder U video game project.
Click here to read more.
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