The Appalachian College Association (ACA) partnered with the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) to improve financial education quality, access, and impact for underserved students attending ACA member institutions. NEFE provided almost $1.5 million to support ACA’s implementation of financial education programs and services tailored to the unique needs of the ACA’s 77,000 students.
Seven ACA institutions were selected to participate in the initial phase of this partnership: Berea College, Emory & Henry College, Ferrum College, Mars Hill University, Maryville College, Union College, and the University of Pikeville. Each participating campus designed a financial education program that best fits the students they serve as well as their existing curricular and co-curricular programs. The benefits of this partnership extend beyond these seven institutions as the program generated new curriculum, instructional resources, and research findings on best practices in financial education.
Timeline
Spring and Summer 2023: Campus teams developed their campus-specific financial education program.
Fall 2023-Spring 2025: Financial education programming was provided to at least 2500 students at the seven participating campuses.
Project Updates
Each of the NEFE-ACA partner schools had a membership in the Higher Education Financial Wellness Alliance (HEFW), based at Indiana University. Among their resources is Cash Course, a guide to making informed financial choices, including assignments and other financial tools to start taking charge of your money.
Student Financial Wellness Resources
The database Financial Education Resources compiles resources that participants felt were particularly useful in creating their programs.
Berea College’s (Kentucky) financial education efforts were led by longtime faculty member Dr. Nancy Sowers and Financial Literacy Coordinator Dan Rohrer, who built on the college’s strong academic and co-curricular traditions. Their approach blended classroom instruction (such as GSTR 110b), co-curricular programming through the Personal and Professional Development (PPD) course, and extracurricular opportunities via The MoneyWi$e Project. Together, these offerings reached more than 400 students in Spring 2025 alone. Berea emphasized practical tools like budgeting templates and Excel resources, ensuring students left each session with tangible strategies they could immediately apply to their lives.
“Our students possess facility in content mastery, meaning that financial literacy was never MoneyWi$e’s goal; rather it was a foundation from which to build financial confidence and downstream behaviors.”
The program leaned heavily on word-of-mouth enthusiasm and a growing network of peer mentors, with plans for five student money coaches launching in 2025/26. Partnerships with the Labor Program and other campus offices helped financial education reach the entire first-year class and weave itself into the fabric of campus life. As Berea sustains this work through its new Quality Enhancement Plan, the team remains committed to moving beyond simple financial literacy toward building true financial confidence.
At Emory & Henry (Virginia), Deborah Spencer, Associate Professor of Economics, and Denise Stanley, Associate Professor of Accounting, created the F$NCAP program. A combination a for-credit course (BUAD 350 – Special Topics: Financial Capability Series) with a non-credit, on-demand version available to all students through Moodle. Nearly 300 students engaged in financial education during Spring 2025, supported by lyceum presentations, a cookout that celebrated student achievement, and creative activities like scavenger hunts and peer-led workshops. The program emphasized practical application, with resources such as budgeting and amortization spreadsheets helping students put lessons into action. Offering the course for credit proved especially effective, with 92% of students completing all stages.
As one student reflected after using F$NCAP resources to budget and prepare for their financial future: “I never thought about my finances, but this program helped me take charge.”
F$NCAP’s sustainability has been a core priority from the start, with the program now embedded in new student orientation, career advising, and the university’s Lyceum series. The initiative will continue beyond the grant with support from University Advancement and expanded peer mentoring.
At Ferrum College (Virginia), financial education efforts combined classroom instruction with innovative scholarship-based programming. The in-person credit-bearing course BUS 201: Personal Finance enrolled 34 students, while 70 students participated in the “Earn to Learn” matching scholarship program, which required 8–12 hours of engagement. Additional workshops, including sessions in Ferrum 100, exposed first-year students to core topics like budgeting, saving, and cash flow. Faculty relied on NFEC curriculum, NEFE resources, and interactive tools such as the online “Spent Game” to ensure content was practical and accessible.
Many reported feeling more confident in budgeting and managing money, with one noting that the program “taught me how to take control of my finances, not just in theory but in practice.”
Students consistently praised the real-life examples, interactive learning, and immediate application of skills to both personal and career goals. Looking ahead, Ferrum plans to sustain and expand its efforts through partnerships with NFEC, NEFE, and the continuation of the “Earn to Learn” program.
Mars Hill University
Mars Hill University’s (North Carolina) financial education initiative, headed by Program Coordinator Michael Foster and Professor of Economics Grainger Caudle, blended classroom learning with hands-on, peer-led experiences to make financial literacy both practical and approachable. Two regularly offered courses—BA 240 for non-business majors and BA 340 for business majors—gave students tailored instruction based on whether they were preparing for graduation or managing college life “right now.” Beyond the classroom, the Peer Mentorship Program brought financial literacy into campus life through collaborations with departments like RecWell, the Entrepreneurship Club, and the Cothran Center. Interactive events such as a “Health is Wealth” color run, “Price is Right”-style cost-of-living activities, and career-focused workshops helped students engage with financial concepts in a relaxed, community-centered environment.
“We’ve seen students move from anxiety to confidence—opening 401(k)s, building emergency funds, and talking about money without hesitation. That shift is powerful.”
The program’s success was rooted in its focus on reducing stigma around money conversations and giving students the tools to confidently manage their futures. With faculty, staff, and peer mentors working together, Mars Hill created an integrated model where financial education is embedded in both academics and co-curricular life. Looking ahead, the university plans to sustain the Peer Mentorship Program through federal work-study funding and continue offering its financial literacy courses as part of the Business Department.
Maryville College’s (Tennessee) financial education program was coordinated by Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Angela DeLozier, with contributions from faculty across business, education, psychology, and exercise science. The program integrated financial literacy into credit-bearing courses such as BUS249 (Personal Finance) and MTH110 (Quantitative Literacy), while also offering guest lectures, seminars, and interactive activities like financial scavenger hunts and game-based exercises. Students engaged with real-world applications of financial concepts, including budgeting, credit management, student loans, and career-related financial planning. Assignments and activities were embedded directly in course materials, supplemented with AI-assisted case studies, podcasts, and simulations to foster hands-on learning.
One student remarked that the program helped them see “how saving early and making smart financial choices can add up over time.”
Approximately 138 students participated in Spring 2025, with BUS249 reaching full enrollment in its first year. Students reported increased confidence and practical skills in managing money, with many noting the relevance of the lessons to their future careers. Maryville College plans to continue embedding financial literacy in coursework and offering select campus events to sustain student learning and engagement.
Union Commonwealth University (Kentucky) embedded financial education deeply into its curriculum through the Money Smart Bulldogs program, requiring students across all class years to engage in credit-bearing courses that emphasized practical money management. Freshmen in Union Commonwealth Experience 102 explored budgeting, emergency funds, and credit basics through assignments anchored in real-world tools like MIT’s Living Wage Calculator and the EPI Family Budget Calculator. Sophomore- and junior-level courses shifted focus to career readiness and advanced financial decision-making, incorporating iGrad’s online modules, a stock market simulation, and service learning. Beyond the classroom, students benefited from engaging events such as Eric Smith’s “The Money Game” and “Adulting 101,” FAFSA completion workshops, and personalized “financial literacy exit meetings” for graduating seniors.
“Bring the programming to the students. Everyone will need money smarts in this life—make it fun, make it relevant, make it engaging.”
The program’s strength lay in its blend of required coursework, hands-on activities, and one-on-one support—ensuring that every student had exposure to financial wellness. Survey data reflected major gains: for example, students who began unsure about credit overwhelmingly reported confidence in their ability to manage it after completing the modules.
At the University of Pikeville (Kentucky), the financial education initiative was anchored in the College of Business, where faculty led the hybrid credit-bearing course BUS 490 alongside campus-wide events such as a Financial Wellness Forum. The program combined classroom learning, guest speakers from industries like banking and real estate, and curated resources from Penn State’s Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center. Faculty emphasized practical strategies—such as budgeting and investment basics—while tailoring content to student feedback each semester.
One participant reflected, “This class gave me the confidence to take control of my finances and think seriously about my future.”
Student response underscored the program’s impact, with many reporting that they had begun budgeting, tracking expenses, and even starting investment accounts. Word-of-mouth recruitment proved especially powerful, with students encouraging peers to enroll and continue the program, even expressing disappointment at its conclusion.
