RIT Takes the Lead in Educating College Students about Credit Card Debt

Robert Manning launches financial literacy program at RIT and Fisk University

Today’s college students need help navigating their way through a slalom course of credit card offers in order to avoid the real world social consequences of consumer debt.

Robert Manning, Rochester Institute of Technology professor and special assistant to the provost, has designed a financial literacy program to teach first-year college students the ins and outs of credit card debt. Manning says his new program will prepare students to more effectively manage their money and make smart financial decisions, giving RIT graduates a more competitive edge in the job market as employers are increasingly scrutinizing credit scores along with grade point averages.

The country has the highest level of student indebtedness in history and the worst job market in a decade, Manning says. “We have more and more students who are dropping out of college for non-academic reasons. Educating students about consumer debt is no longer a luxury.”

Introducing educational interventions is the logical next step for Manning whose ground breaking 1999 study on college students and consumer debt, along with his book, Credit Card Nation, sparked national concern among policy makers and a bill introduced by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, the College Student Credit Card Protection Act.

Manning’s financial literacy program will equip first-year students with skills to make financially prudent decisions and minimize their personal debts. His program will debut Aug. 22 as part of RIT’s NORSTAR program designed for the incoming freshman class of ALANA students. In addition, RIT’s First Year Enrichment course during the winter quarter will incorporate two sections of Manning’s program into its existing curriculum.

In partnership with RIT, Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., will also launch a version of Manning’s program designed for its predominantly African-American student body. Manning will incorporate his web-based curriculum and train others to teach his seminars at RIT. He will spend the fall academic term training instructors at Fisk.

“The goal is to learn how to use credit cards as a budget management tool rather than being enticed by the ‘magic of plastic’,” Manning says.

Students will take a cultural and financial literacy quiz followed by a discussion of the consequences of unrestrained credit card use including its future impact on jobs, renting apartments, personal relationships, depression and anxiety.

“After assessing students’ financial situation, we will work with students on a personal budget,” Manning says. “Students will then look at credit reports and look at the cost of compound interest on credit cards.”

Students will build a financial information file to update throughout their collegiate careers, using Manning’s “Debt Zapper Calculator” to figure out the impact of compound interest. (The Debt Zapper Calculator can be found on Manning’s website, creditcardnation.com.) Those who can’t balance their personal budget will continue with additional exercises and learn to separate needs from desires with Manning’s “Budget Savior Estimator.”

Part of the program will include testimonials from peers interviewed on television news programs including one student who declared bankruptcy before graduation, and scenes from movies and television shows that portray life in debt. Pop culture examples, such as Bart Simpson obtaining a credit card, will remind students that amassing consumer debt can happen to anyone if they aren’t careful and that they can choose to be money smart.

“With a record 1.5 million personal bankruptcies in 2002 and rising tuition costs, students need to understand the power credit cards hold—both the positive and negative impacts—because it can have such a dramatic impact on their personal and professional futures,” Manning says.