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February 3, 2009
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Mandatory money management?
Last week, Maurice Black and I published an essay on what colleges and universities should be doing to make sure students graduate knowing how to manage their money -- and knowing the nuts and bolts of economics.
We are not alone in thinking that higher ed has some major work to do on this front. In an address yesterday before the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, former Comptroller General David Walker urged college officials to take seriously their responsibilities on this front:
Colleges have a role in helping to fix the problem, he said. Americans, frequently criticized for weakness in mathematics and science, have glaring problems with personal financial literacy. "People don't know the basics," Mr. Walker said. "If they don't have [financial skills] by college, they need to get it in college, and it needs to be mandatory."Citizens also need an education in "what their responsibilities are if their democracy is going to work," Mr. Walker said, and then directed a question to the college officials in the room. "I would ask you, What are you doing about that?"
He's right, he's right, he's right. Walker, by the way, gave up his post as Comptroller General to become a tireless advocate for fiscal responsibility in this country. He's now president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which recently released IOUSA, a terrifying documentary about our towering national debt that also doubles as a crash course in basic economics. Walker now tours the nation as part of his Foundation's "fiscal wake up tour," spreading a message we all need to hear.
You can see a 30-minute version of the film--and see Walker in action--here.
UPDATE 2/4/09: More at ACTA Online and IPE Journal.
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Comments:
My SIL wrote a nice letter of advice for my daughter when she started college. One piece of advice was to take a course in personal finance. I told my kid that was a very good idea.
Her school doesn't offer one.
To be fair, I don't see the frivolous and weird offerings at her school that I've seen at others - you've talked about some of those in the past, Erin - but personal finance really wouldn't be a bad idea. I wonder if enough students would sign up for it.
Off topic - in my years in the laboratory I've seen quality systems pretty much swarm up and take over analytical chemistry as done in independent labs (I've done environmental and FDA-related work) and industry. Kids ought to be graduating with chemistry degrees nowadays knowing what IQ/PQ/OQ means, how to set up a control chart and write up a nonconformance, but I've not seen it, and college profs I've asked about it don't know what I'm talking about. I guess they see themselves preparing their students for a life in academia?
What next? Universal health-care coverage for everyone? My god, it's 1984.
Why should it be a requirement for colleges to teach financial literacy?
I agree it is a good thing for students to learn, but it shouldn't be mandatory.
Learning personal finance is very vital for us as we learn how to take care of our hard earned money.
Money management should be taught as a separate subject right from the school days. This will help the kids to understand the importance of money in the long run and they can easily handle financial issues more effectively.
