Sam Houston State University (SHSU) regularly provides information and guidance to student borrowers that help them better understand how to manage their student debt and to repay student loans. The State of Texas Senate Bill 1590 [1] requires teaching institutions to offer training in personal financial literacy in order to provide the institution’s students with the knowledge and skills necessary to make important decisions relating to personal financial matters as self-supporting adults. The suggested topics include budgeting, credit cards, spending, saving, loan repayment and consolidation, taxes, retirement planning, and financing of health care and other benefits. Furthermore, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 2015-2030 statewide strategic plan, 60x30TX [2], contains a goal to ensure that, by the year 2030, student loan debt will not exceed 60% of first-year wages for graduates of Texas public institutions.
At SHSU, the Student Money Management Center [3] is designed to meet these mandated goals and requirements by increasing student knowledge of personal finance through outreach programming. Programming types include workshops and classroom presentations, online instruction, and personal coaching. The Student Money Management Center is under the auspices of the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and collaborates with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to provide information and guidance to help student borrowers understand how to manage their debt and repay their student loans.
Managing Debt: Budgeting and Student Loan Education Prior to Enrollment
SHSU takes a proactive approach in teaching potential students about various ways to pay for college, including explanations of student loans. In the academic year 2016-2017, the Student Money Management Center presented at on-campus events, such as college preview days (Saturdays@Sam), Freshman and Transfer Orientation Breakout Sessions, Huntsville High School Junior Day, Huntsville Youth Leadership Institute, and Transfer Friday. The Student Money Management Center also presented at Town & Gown off-campus events in Huntsville and the surrounding community.
At the pre-collegiate events, the Student Money Management Center coaches work with potential students and their parents to complete the College Financial Planning Guide [4]. Resource packets are provided to potential students and their families. The Student Money Management Center and the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships also work with families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Managing Debt and Loan Repayment: Workshops/Classrooms
The Student Money Management Center collaborates with the Office of First-Year Experience [5] to provide presentations to students on managing debt and repaying student loans within University 1301: Introduction to Collegiate Studies [6]. University 1301 professors invite Student Money Management Center staff to give presentations on a variety of financial literacy topics. The Student Money Management Center also provides financial literacy information [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] through other academic courses upon faculty invitation, programs such as TRIO, a variety of student organizations, general student population programming, and online delivery via the National Endowment for Financial Education’s CashCourse [13].
In the 2017-2018 academic year, the SHSU Student Money Management Center made a total of 134 classroom and workshop presentations [14] [15] [16] [17] with 2,959 students in attendance. Of 2,847 students surveyed, 95.73% indicated they had learned one or more specific pieces of personal financial knowledge by attending the program. Self-reported topics of learning included budgeting, credit, insurance, investing, health care, loans, and retirement planning.
Managing Debt and Loan Repayment: Coaching Sessions, Debt Letters, and Email Communications
In the 2016-2017 academic year (the most current year for which data is available), a total of 729 students attended coaching sessions in budgeting (406), credit management (17), retirement planning (1), and student loans (305). Of the 328 students surveyed, 99% indicated they had learned one or more specific pieces of personal financial knowledge by attending the coaching session. Furthermore, in 2017-2018 the Student Money Management Center and the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships staff participated on a Student Loan Debt Subcommittee that identified a student loan debt letter as a strategic endeavor for the 2017-2018 academic year. The objective of the debt letter is to begin a conversation with students to create an awareness regarding the following:
In July 2018, 13,274 student loan debt letters were mailed to SHSU students carrying federal debt. To increase university personnel resources to respond to student inquiries and requests related to student debt, SHSU employs 15 student loan mentors embedded within each academic college.