CFEE Guidebook

7 BUILDING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY THROUGH FINANCIAL COACHING accumulate several thousand dollars in savings. A few months before graduation, he was in an accident that totaled his car, although he was unhurt. The insurance proceeds were not sufficient to purchase another vehicle, which potentially could have been disastrous, because he needed the car to get to campus and to his job. It was only because he had savings put away that he was able to finance a down payment on a car purchase and complete the academic year without jeopardizing his job or his degree. When students are in financial distress, it hits their academic work first. College educators need to be aware of the role that financial well-being can play as they develop interven- tions targeted to academic success. Students in our Money Smart coaching program have been able to gain the confidence and skills to plan their finances and make better choices with their limited resources. This helps students to persist in college in several impor- tant ways. First, it gives them the tools to budget and manage their current college ex- penses, reducing stress levels that may impede their academic work. Second, it gives them planning strategies for the future, including budgeting to complete a degree and knowing where to find sources of financing, such as fi- nancial aid and scholarships, that may facilitate their ability to transfer to a four-year school. The coaching process also helps deepen a student’s engagement with the college, through the relationship with their coach and other services introduced via the program. As a result, we have found that there is a strong correlation between financial coaching and the persistence rates of students participating in the program. In two cohorts of coaching par- ticipants, for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years, our fall-to-fall persistence rates were 91% and 92% respectively, based on part-time and full-time students who continued enrollment at Westchester or who completed a degree or certificate. This compares favorably to national persistence rates of about 74% for the first-time college population in 2017-18. 2 Evidence from financial coaching programs at other community colleges indicates the same positive impact on persistence. For example, in California, Skyline College’s SparkPoint Center offers an array of services to help students build financial capability, including financial coach- ing and accessing public benefits. Their data from a four-year period showed a significantly higher persistence rate (based on fall-to-spring semester) for students taking advantage of one or more types of financial interventions. 3 The more services the students used, the higher the persistence rate. This data again points to the importance of connection to the college. But it also illustrates that financial coaching and interventions leading to financial health can be powerful tools to help students overcome financial hurdles and remain in college. Community colleges provide students with an accessible pathway toward higher education and economic mobility. Financial literacy training empowers students to maximize their chances to complete a degree, prepare for the workforce, and become upwardly mobile. The successful Money Smart Forum financial coaching model we developed has achieved this by teach- ing critical skills for managing money and making smart financial decisions. These lessons open doors of opportunity long into the future as students develop stronger financial habits. Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Community College