Cyprus Credit Union and Salt Lake Community College have joined forces to offer students an opportunity to become more financially literate while in school for future phases of their life.
Jose Rodriguez Hernandez, a student support case manager with SLCC, explained that in Utah high schools, students must take a financial literacy class, which aims to educate students on budgeting and other financial matters. The college’s new Financial Wellbeing Program continues this process.
“When students get into college and [are] becoming a bit more independent and self-sufficient, we want to make sure that students still have that kind of support when it comes to developing those financial wellness skills,” Rodriguez Hernandez said of the new program.
While in high school, students may not practice or prioritize the skill of managing a checking account, saving money, or budgeting. Cyprus Credit Union’s involvement in the new program focuses on providing financial literacy education to individuals who may lack basic financial knowledge.
Paul Benner, the associate dean of accounting, finance and economics at SLCC, participated in the Cyprus Credit Union-SLCC committee. He said the Financial Wellbeing Program aims to help students manage their finances effectively while in college.
“We have an awful lot of students who come to us without ever having learned the basics of finance. So, what we’re trying to do is help them out so they can stay solvent, especially [while] going through school,” Benner said. “Things like, how does a credit card work, how do you make a budget and how do you follow a budget, that sort of thing [is] what we’re looking at now.”
Program integration
Rodriguez Hernandez expects the Financial Wellbeing Program to be available through multiple campus resources.
“We are thinking it would be through the SEEA [Student Engagement, Experience and Achievement] office. We’re working through that now, but that’s one of the ways that we want to incorporate as a service to students.
“The second way would be through student clubs and organizations. So [for example], if a student club is wanting to work on their club budget and wants some expertise about, like, how to structure a budget for their club. Beyond that, the club could also request for one of the financial experts from Cyprus do a presentation for their actual club on personal finance,” Rodriguez Hernandez continued.
According to Rodriguez Hernandez, the third approach involves exploring a collaboration with individuals from the Gail Miller School of Business. Faculty could engage with Cyprus Credit Union to share knowledge and insight on topics such as a career in finance.
“If a student is taking a finance class and they want to be a financial planner, Cyprus Credit Union could come in to share what it is like to be a financial planner, like the day-to-day operations of the financial planner,” Rodriguez Hernandez said.
Cyprus Credit Union’s expertise
Rodriguez Hernandez has discovered that Cyprus is keen on tailoring their offerings to students based on the needs identified by students.
“One of the things that I’ve learned about Cyprus is that they’re really committed to finding out what are the needs of our students and then targeting what they offer by the needs of what our students identify. They seem to be really committed to developing those relationships with the community and I think we’re lucky that they’ve chosen SLCC as partners to our students,” Rodriguez Hernandez said.
Rodriguez Hernandez plans to have information about the Cyprus Credit Union-SLCC partnership at the spring Mega Fairs held Tuesday at Jordan Campus, Wednesday at South City Campus, and Thursday at Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
