Cardiff by the Sea, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/24/2014 --Best-selling author Sharon Lechter and Pay Your Family First have teamed with iGrad to develop a college-level financial literacy curriculum which utilizes the increasingly popular "flipped classroom" model.
Written by Lechter and Angela Totman, a Certified Personal and Family Finance Educator, the Your Financial Mastery books are being released at a time when students and recent graduates need financial literacy education most.
Student loan debt has more than doubled since 2007, and it is estimated at about $1 trillion by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – second only to mortgages as the largest form of consumer debt. The average debt among 2012 college graduates was nearly $30,000, and the CFPB states that this increased student loan debt has created a "domino effect" which is preventing young adults from buying homes, starting businesses, and moving out of their parent's homes.
According to Lechter, member of the first President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and founder of Pay Your Family First, “The Your Financial Mastery program empowers students to become masters of their money rather than slaves to it-- by addressing entrepreneurship, real estate investing, asset protection and charitable giving along with more traditional topics such as banking, budgeting, investing, insurance and estate planning. Money management is a life skill that is critical for the success of everyone and should be a requirement for every student.”
Your Financial Mastery employs the groundbreaking “flipped classroom” format, which empowers student learning by leveraging online video lectures, practical examples and instructor-led activities and discussions. The result is a significantly higher level of interaction and participant education, which is imperative for the behavioral changes needed to achieve the core competencies of financial literacy.
“Many educators tell us that they are uncomfortable teaching this particular topic, so we wanted to come up with something that helps the instructor as much as it helps the student,” says Kris Alban, iGrad vice president. “The collaboration between iGrad and Pay Your Family First has produced an outstanding financial literacy course packed with engaging discussions and interactive exercises.”
By implementing the Your Financial Mastery curriculum, colleges can demonstrate their commitment to preparing and graduating students who are financially responsible and prepared for financial success.
About Sharon Lechter
Sharon Lechter is an author, international speaker, CPA, CGMA, and philanthropist and the founder and CEO of Pay Your Family First. Lechter coauthored the international blockbuster Rich Dad Poor Dad, as well as fourteen other books in the Rich Dad Series and has released the bestselling titles, Three Feet From Gold, Outwitting the Devil and Think and Grow Rich for Women in cooperation with the Napoleon Hill Foundation.
About iGrad
Grad is privileged to partner with over 600 schools across the country to provide an industry-leading, customizable platform, which connects over 1.2 million students, as well as alumni and staff, with the tools needed to succeed in the real world of personal finance. iGrad is the only organization to offer a customizable adaptive learning financial education platform with optional video-based student loan entrance and exit counseling. iGrad’s recent accolades include:
- 2013 Outstanding Consumer Information Award, AFCPE
- Best Product of 2013, University Business magazine
- 2013 Education Program of the Year, Institute for Financial Literacy
