TUESDAY JANUARY 14, 2014 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 72 Serving The University of Alabama since 1894
Class of 2013
$35,200 average college debt
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saving money temptation of credit start a rainy day fund
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CW | Belle Newby
use Mint.com to budget and track spending
BUDGETING101 CULTURE | FINANCE
NEWS | FINANCE
Seniors encouraged to begin saving for future
Classes provide insight on managing personal finances
Students face increasing debt upon graduation every year By Alexandra Ellsworth | Staff Reporter The primary concern for the majority of college students in the United States is no longer social or academic, according to Time. com. In a July 2012 article, Time writer Dan Kadlec said students were “more stressed than ever,” and money is the reason why. Last May, CNN reported the class of 2013 is facing an average of $35,200 in college-related debt, according to a Fidelity survey of 750 college graduates. “We’re tending to find people are still surprised at the level of debt they’re graduating with, which suggests we still have a long way
to go in terms of having conversations about planning for college, saving for college and figuring out the best place to go [to college],” Keith Bernhardt, vice president of college planning at Fidelity Investments, told CNN. Not only are students in debt, but they may be unaware of how much they will be earning when they graduate. Susan Adams reported in a May 2013 Forbes article that a poll by consulting firm Accenture shows drastic gaps between graduating seniors’ expectations of the work world and the reality of recent graduates already in the workplace. “Just 15 percent of [2013’s] graduating seniors expect to earn less than $25,000 a year,” according to the poll. “But a third of SEE MONEY PAGE 9
HES offers certified financial planning courses, program
“Consumers need help in decision making. Let’s say your great aunt Sally leaves you $50,000. What are you going to do with that? How do you make good financial decisions? CFPs help with that.” The college still offers basic financial planning classes to any major, and the foundation course, CSM 204, gives students a basis for understanding and evaluating basic financial planning principles and how they apply to life situations and change over the course of a consumer’s life, professor and CFP Caroline Fulmer said. “Students start with the 204 foundations class, then take special classes in insurance, investing, retirement, estates and taxes,” Boschung said. “Financial planning as a career is ranked as a top career for the future.
By Jason Frost | Contributing Writer There are only 550 Certified Financial Planners in the the state of Alabama. While certification requires years of education, experience and a signed devotion to ethics, The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences, under Dean Milla Boschung, has made it possible for students to pursue such a demanding career in four years. Boschung started CFP certification tracks 27 years ago, aiming to give students the ability to get certified as soon as possible. “I have been on faculty since ’77, and I saw a demand immediately,” Boschung said.
SEE EDUCATION PAGE 2
NEWS | INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Delegation from Chinese college visits University of Alabama UA hopes to start partnership program in Shanghai, China By Andy McWhorter | Assistant News Editor A delegation of administrators and faculty from Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College in Shanghai, China, visited The University of Alabama on Monday, Jan. 13, as part of negotiations between Tianhua College and the UA College of Education to create an exchange program between the two institutions. The College of Education already has international programs in Latin America, but a deal with Tianhua would be the college’s
first foray into Asia. Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the College of Education, said the first goal for the partnership is to establish a three-one program between Tianhua and The University of Alabama. “We were contacted by one of the representatives at Tianhua College to have a discussion about the possibility of having what they’re calling a three-one cooperative program,” Hlebowitsh said. “Three-one meaning that they’d like to send students to our campus for their senior-year experience with the previous three-year experiences on
CW | Austin Bigoney Delegates from Tianhua College of Shanghai, China, visit campus Monday to facilitate a SEE CHINA PAGE 5 partnership with The University of Alabama College of Education.
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WHAT: ‘Alive and Well’ WHEN: 7:30-9:30 p.m. WHERE: Bama Theatre
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WHAT: SGA candidate interest meeting WHEN: 6:30 p.m. WHERE: 309 Ferguson Center
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WHAT: Writing an Effective Resume…and Then What? WHEN: 9-10 a.m. WHERE: 301 Ferguson Center
WEATHER
WHAT: 75 Years of Abstract Prints at the SMGA WHEN: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. WHERE: Garland Hall
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