Westchester Community College has received a $100,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to support the Center for Financial and Economic Education (“CFEE”) for the current 2015-2016 academic year.
This grant will enable the CFEE to continue to offer a unique co-curricular program, the Money Smart Forum, which helps students build financial capability through financial coaching and education.
The Money Smart Forum was introduced as a pilot program last year and includes one-on-one financial coaching, financial education, and career readiness training. Students in the program work with a financial coach to improve their financial lives by incorporating practices such as budgeting, tracking expenses, saving money, building credit, and managing debt. The ultimate goal is to help students build healthy habits and make sound financial decisions so that they can complete a college degree and pursue career goals.
Last year, more than three hundred students took advantage of resources offered by the program including individual coaching, workshops and career training sessions. Renewed funding for the 2015-16 academic year will allow the program to involve more students and to help them continue to gain critical “JPMorgan Chase has been a very significant partner in terms of supporting financial capability initiatives at Westchester Community College,” says Tere Wisell, the college’s Vice President and Dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development. “We are grateful for their continued generosity and for the important program that this grant funding makes possible. Financial coaching provides our students with the tools they need to make sound financial decisions that support their academic and personal success and have the power “Across the country, too many people lack the tools and resources the need to manage their daily financial lives,” says Michael Haberman, Managing Director and head of the Northeast Region for Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. “The Money Smart Forum provide these resources to the students of Westchester Community College, promoting financial stability and economic Suzanne Matthews, Director of the CFEE, notes that “Westchester Community College is one of the few institutions in the country to offer customized financial coaching to students, and this type of service is increasingly considered an important leading edge practice in the financial education community. Feedback from last year overwhelmingly demonstrated that the program succeeded in helping participants to get control of their expenses, save on a regular basis, reduce debt, and build a framework for future financial Based in Valhalla, New York, Westchester Community College is the largest educational institution in Westchester and the fourth largest community college in the SUNY system, with 24,000 students enrolled in full-time and part-time credit courses, as well as Continuing Education programs. The college is the most accessible institution of higher education in Westchester County. The school serves as a pathway to economic advancement for students who seek a college degree as well as those who intend to go directly into the workforce after The mission of Westchester Community College is to provide accessible, high quality and affordable education to meet the needs of our diverse community. We are committed to student success, academic excellence, workforce development, economic development and lifelong learning.
