According to an article published by the National Association of Students Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), most incoming college students struggle to answer basic financial literacy questions. For young adults entering college or the workforce, having basic financial literacy is vital to their future financial success.

In 2020, Money Sense for Graduates was developed as a collaborative effort between the Christian County Family & Consumer Sciences agent, a planning committee, and local schools. The program was established as a way to provide high school seniors with the tools necessary for them to be successful as the move on from high school and begin to take on more financial responsibility.

Due to the success of the program in 2020, Money Sense for Graduates was offered again in 2021 but in a virtual format due to COVID-19 restrictions. Seniors from both public high schools participated in a series of lessons that covered topics from banking to spending habits that were featured through recorded videos, podcast, and publications.

In partnership with this program, 4-H Youth Development agents taught Banking 101 in which students learned how to properly write a check, selecting a financial service provider, balancing a checkbook, and other basic banking topics. Using information from the “High School Financial Planning Program” curriculum, agents developed a comprehensive lesson that gave students the basic skills they needed to be financially successful.

To gauge the comprehension of the lesson materials, students were asked to complete a survey at the completion of the lesson with questions that were pulled from the materials. On average 74% of the students answered the questions correctly.