Smart Cents, offered by Salt Lake Community College, is a workshop series that helps students build the skills and confidence to manage their money and become financially independent.
The workshop, hosted by the Dean of Students Office in partnership with Cyprus Credit Union, teaches lessons in banking, budgeting, credit and the homebuying process.
SLCC partnered with Cyprus Credit Union in 2024 to jump-start the financial wellbeing program with the goal of “helping students make informed financial decisions both during their time at the College and in future endeavors,” according to the Cyprus Credit Union website.
“[At] SLCC, we have such diverse people that come from really all different backgrounds,” said Director of Student Support & Assistant Dean of Students, José Rodríguez Hernández. “Including a lot of students that are immigrant or refugees, and they might not know the financial system in the U.S.”
A 2017 study conducted by Everfi found that only about 45% of U.S. college students from two-year institutions “report having ever taken a personal finance course.”
When asked about their preparedness to manage their own money, most students said they are not, with 25% claiming to live “paycheck to paycheck.”
Hernandez, who helps students get assistance from the Bruin Emergency Fund, says that Smart Cents empowers students to be financially prepared.
“Students [often] are not financially prepared for emergencies,” said Hernandez. “Something like a flat tire, or a dead battery, or an unforeseen doctor bill, they just don’t have the funds to cover that. What a student is gaining from Smart Cents is how to develop monthly spending plans [which can] help with these kinds of emergencies.”
Students can register online and attend on campus or virtually. Prizes will be given and lunch will be provided.
