UAH – news

Michael Mercer | UAH

The University of Huntsville (UAH), part of the University of Alabama, announced that the UAH College of Business (COB) has received a $30,000 grant to support a new financial wellness program.

This support will allow COB to fully implement a financial security program that provides students with the opportunity to learn about financial planning and implement tools and resources to help protect their financial future.

“We are grateful for Regions Bank’s commitment to the financial security of UAH, our students and our community,” said Dr. Jason Green, dean of the College of Business. “Students selected to participate will complete a three-week program where they will be taught sound principles that impact financial security, such as personal budgeting, savings, credit cards and debt. Students who complete the program will not only be prepared with financial literacy, but will also receive a scholarship sponsored by Regions Bank.

In preparation for this new grant, COB is piloting a program in 2020-2021 that has shown promising results that will greatly benefit the student population as a whole.

“With support from Regions Bank, the College of Business has developed a financial security curriculum for students with a focus on financial need,” explains Dr. Green.

The purpose of the pilot program is to test the effect of a financial education program on students’ financial knowledge. The study was designed to determine whether participants scored higher on a financial literacy instrument when given a program that covered topics such as budgeting, saving money, resources, and student loans.

“We did a pilot study on the financial security curriculum we developed last year,” said Dr. Wafa Orman, COB associate dean and associate professor of economics. “We envisioned developing students’ financial literacy and enhancing their sense of self-sufficiency. Students who participated in the program saw a statistically significant increase in their financial literacy scores (about 16%) that continued after three months. They also saw improvements in their resilience and self-efficacy scores immediately after the program. We look forward to rolling out the program more widely, and hope more of our students can benefit from it. We are very grateful to Regions Bank for the pilot program, scholarship support and support in developing the curriculum.

The pilot study showed that student knowledge in each of these areas improved significantly upon implementation of the program. In the future, support from Regions Bank will allow COB to offer the program to a wider audience, with select Pell Grant recipients receiving a $500 incentive to participate funded by financial aid. Participating students participate in both pre- and post-program surveys.

“The College of Business is honored to have great community partners like Regions Bank,” says Dr. Green. “This gift is the latest example of their outstanding commitment to UAH and our community.”

Regions Bank Financial Corporation is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management and mortgage products and services. Regions Bank serves customers in the South, Midwest and Texas.

UAH’s College of Business contributes to Huntsville’s economic vitality and business through its mission to foster innovation, inspire research ideas, and launch student careers. With outstanding faculty and accomplished researchers, it offers accredited business degree programs in six majors at the undergraduate and seven master’s degree programs at the graduate level, including a flexible MBA program that can be taken online or in person. A combination of both.