webinars

Drawing the Line Between Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Services

Tuesday, April 30, 2pm - 3pm ET

With similar names, the differences between Financial Wellness and Financial Aid can be hard to communicate to students, administrators, and even fellow staff members. Join our panelists as they share how they differentiate their work from Financial Aid, find opportunities to collaborate, and navigate conversations to ensure a fair delineation between financial wellness and financial aid tasks. Whether your financial wellness work grew out of a Financial Aid office or is located elsewhere, this session will be a fantastic opportunity to network with others and get tips for navigating those tough conversations.

Emily Culbertson, Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid, Emory University
Karen Serna, Director of Student Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Outreach, Austin Community College
Nate Peterson, Director of the Office of Student Finance, University of Minnesota

The State of Student Loan Repayment

Wednesday, May 22, 2pm - 3pm ET

The federal student loan system is rapidly changing. It’s no wonder borrowers are struggling between the return to repayment, updates to how and where borrowers turn for support, and increasing trends of mixed messages and misreported information around student loans. Join us as we share our insights into post- payment pause data trends, discuss recent and upcoming changes to repayment plans and borrowers support, and provide strategies to help your student loan borrowers.

Chris Conway, Director of Financial Education Initiatives and Repayment Management, University of Phoenix
Sara Wilson, Director of Product Innovation, Student Connections

What Does Financial Education Have to Do with Basic Needs Programs?

Tuesday, February 20, 3-4 pm ET

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 60% of college students in the United States experienced some form of basic needs insecurity. These challenges include a lack of reliable access to housing, food, transportation, child care, technology, and other critical needs. Today, connecting students to basic needs resources and providing holistic financial wellness education is intersection. In this webinar, we’ll explore what Basic Needs programs look like on college campuses and share ways that you can connect and partner with the ecosystem of resources on your campus and in your community.  

Kevin Lee Sutton, Director of Financial Wellness, East Carolina University
Madeline St. Clair, Maverick Food Pantry Manager, University of Nebraska at Omaha

What’s New with the 2024-25 FAFSA?

Tuesday, January 23, 2-3 pm ET

The 2024-25 FAFSA, or "Better FAFSA," is being comprehensively overhauled. Learn more about the delayed opening, changes coming with the new form, the process and where to find more information.

Kay Walck, M. Ed., Outreach Services Specialist, Oklahoma College Assistance Program

Financial Wellness Research: 2023 Year in Review

Thursday, December 14th, 2-3pm ET

Are you looking to justify your financial wellness program or expand its reach on campus? Join the HEFWA research committee to recap the 2023 year of financial wellness research. We will discuss results from the survey of financial wellness programs, an analysis of national level financial wellness data, and implications from our three-year study of peer financial meld mentors. Attendees will also have opportunities to participate in HEFWA research and shape the field of financial wellness research moving forward.

Tristia Kayser, Columbia University
Grace Beatty, Hotchkiss School
Sahil Annamaneni, Hotchkiss School
Michael Gallary. Hotchkiss School
Jodi Kaus, Kansas State University
Sara Ray, Baylor University

Interactive Workshop on Email Marketing

Thursday, November 16th, 2pm-3pm ET

This interactive workshop will include research-based best practices on how to market financial wellness content and programs to students using email. The workshop will be discussion-based, with examples to work through, and the last 20 minutes will be dedicated to answering specific questions from attendees about their own email marketing programs and sharing email-marketing success stories.

Helen Colby, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

Annual Program Goal Setting

Thursday, October 12th, 2-3pm ET

It’s easy for financial wellness professionals to get busy with the day-to-day work of teaching and helping students. It’s not as easy to set and track program goals. Join us as we discuss how to evaluate your existing goals and set new annual goals for your program. During this session, we will highlight features of successful goal setting and share tips for identifying priorities that effectively highlight the importance of your work. You’ll hear from programs about the goals they have set, what they found effective, and lessons they learned.

Dr. Helen Colby, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

Jodi Kaus, Director of Powercat Financial, Kansas State University

Nicole Benford, Assistant Director of Niner Finances, University of North Carolina Charlotte

Making the Most of Your HEFWA Membership

Tuesday, September 12th, 2-3pm ET

Would you like to learn more about what’s coming for the Higher Education Financial Wellness Alliance? Here’s your chance! During this session, we’ll share information about existing programs and resources available to HEFWA members, like CashCourse, the Alliance Coaching Experience (ACE) and our Master Class event series. We’ll also provide a sneak peek at the member toolkit and give you ways to build your network with HEFWA volunteering opportunities.

Kirsten Phillips, VP of Operations, HEFWA
Philippa Satterwhite, Coordinator of Financial Wellness and Education, University of Tennessee Knoxville

Helping Students Return to Student Loan Repayment

Thursday, July 27th, 2-3pm ET

After a three-year pause, student loan payments will resume in October 2023. Unfortunately, many borrowers aren’t financially prepared and even worse, the student loan support system is too small to handle their numbers. So, what can schools do to help?

 Join us Thursday, July 27 at 2 p.m. ET as we share strategies and best practices you can use to help your current and former students successfully begin making student loan payments and avoid delinquency and default.

Chris Conway, Director of Financial Education Initiatives and Repayment Management, University of Phoenix 
Phil Schuman, Executive Director of Financial Wellness & Education, Indiana University
Sara Wilson, Director of Product Innovation, Student Connections

The 2023 Survey of Financial Wellness Programs in Higher Education

Wednesday, June 21st, 2-3:30pm ET

The live survey is back! If you work for a financial wellness program in higher education, HEFWA is calling on you to share your knowledge and network with your peers to complete the 2023 HEFWA Survey of Financial Wellness Programs in Higher Education LIVE! Participants should plan on attending the live survey for the entire 90 minutes, as HEFWA wants to gather as many complete responses from programs as possible. Also, to help you accurately complete the live survey, please have an idea of your overall program’s budget, staffing levels, educational offerings, and program evaluation methods. This information will help you complete the survey accurately.

Once the survey has concluded, all participants will be emailed full, anonymized survey results for you to use to help justify your program’s funding levels and support, as well as provide ideas for how to evaluate your program’s effectiveness.

Join us for the LIVE survey and contribute to HEFWA’s community of knowledge while also building connections with other leaders in the field of financial wellness!

Insights from Annual Student Financial Wellness Survey

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2-3pm ET

Join us to learn about Trellis’ Student Financial Wellness Survey and how it can help institutions gain pivotal insights into student finances on their own campuses. This webinar will highlight the fall 2022 findings from more than 36,000 student respondents at 89 institutions across the country and provide information on the process to participate in the survey this fall.

Carla Fletcher, Senior Research Analyst, Trellis Company https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlafletcher/

Abigail Willems, Research Analyst, Trellis Company https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-mcalister-willems-911237139/

Meeting the Needs of Unique Populations– Military Service Members

Friday, April 28th, 3-4pm ET

Military service members and their families face a unique set of financial circumstances and challenges. Come learn more about these challenges and ways you can use your financial wellness resources to help.

Gilbert D. Rogers, Ed.D, Sr. Assistant Director of Financial Wellness, University of Oregon

Dr. Brad L Yeckley, MBA, Director of Niner Finances, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Emergency Financial Education: Why Collaboration Matters

Thursday, March 30th, 2-3pm ET

Emergency funds and food pantries are becoming more and more common on college campuses. Financial wellness programs, often missioned to provide students with knowledge about money management, can be unsure of their role within their institution's basic needs systems. In this webinar presenters will discuss how basic needs impact student success, the role financial education prevention can play, and what financial educators can do to support distribution of emergency funds on their campus.

Charah Coleman, Founding Financial Wellness Coordinator, University of California, Merced

Julie Heaton, Director of the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center, Penn State University

Leanne Lenz, Associate Director of Student Care & Advocacy, Penn State University

Celebrating National Consumer Protection Week on Your Campus: Outreach & Program Ideas

Tuesday, February 21st at 3-4pm ET

National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) is just around the corner. The Federal Trade Commission leads the national outreach for this event, but the week is really powered by folks like you, putting on programs and doing outreach on consumer protection issues (avoiding scams, identity theft, etc.) for your students.

Ari Lazarus, Consumer Education Specialist, Federal Trade Commission

The Economy and Inflation Explained

Thursday, January 26th at 2-3pm ET

Are your students asking questions about inflation? Do you need a quick primer on how larger economic trends affect your students? Join Dr. Scott Niederjohn for an informative hour of economic topics you feel like you should know, but were too afraid to ask.

Scott Niederjohn, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Director, Free Enterprise Center

HEFWA Showcase: Building Peer-to-Peer programs

Wednesday, December 14th at 3-4pm ET

Do you have a peer-to-peer financial wellness program or interested in starting one? Peer financial coaches bring a unique perspective to financial wellness work. As students themselves, peers can directly relate to the needs and interests of our student groups. Join us to learn how three different universities hire, train, and utilize their peer mentors.

Alex Embree, Program Manager, Office for Financial Success at University of Missouri-Columbia

Catherine Komen, Program Director, Red to Black Peer Financial Coaching at Texas Tech University

Ben Raines, Program Coordinator for Financial Wellness, Student Wellness Center at The Ohio State University

HEFWA Webinar - How Does Your Program Compare? 2022 HEFWA Survey of Financial Wellness Programs Results

Thursday, November 17th at 2pm ET

What do 56% of school financial wellness programs have in common? The 2022 HEFWA Survey of Financial Wellness Programs found that over half of the programs they surveyed are brand new programs with an office of one!

Each year HEFWA surveys schools and captures the current landscape of financial wellness programs at colleges and universities nationwide, and the 2022 survey was the first time the survey was conducted during live sessions at the 2022 HEFWA Summit!

Join the HEFWA Research Committee at 2pm ET as they review key results and takeaways from the 2022 survey and stay afterwards to network and discuss the findings with your fellow financial wellness professionals.

Back to School: Reengaging Campus Stakeholders

Looking for new ways to connect or reconnect with other offices and areas of your institution? Schools experience ongoing change and regular personnel turnover that can make kicking off financial wellness programming in a new school year more difficult.

Our panelists will share their strategies for successfully starting a new year, ensuring campus buy-in, and reengaging institution stakeholders. They will discuss the challenges they’ve faced and overcome, and offer advice for ways to grow a program’s presence from one year to the next.

Kiana Piña, Certified Career Experience Navigator, Palo Alto College

Morgan McMillan, Associate Director of Financial Wellness & Education, Indiana University

Paul Goebel, Director of Student Money Management Center, University of North Texas

Making the Most of Your HEFWA Membership

Would you like to learn more about what’s coming for the alliance? Here’s your chance! Continue networking with colleagues in financial wellness and get a glimpse into exciting HEFWA opportunities and initiatives. During this session, we’ll share information about existing programs and resources available to HEFWA members, like the Alliance Coaching Experience and our Master Class event series. We’ll also give you a sneak peek at what’s to come for CashCourse and the new HEFWA Resource Toolkit. Finally, we’ll share ways to build your network with volunteering opportunities.

Phil Schuman, HEFWA Executive Director

Kirsten Phillips, HEFWA Director of Membership

Sara Wilson, HEFWA Director of Alliance Programming

Complete the 2022 HEFWA Survey of Financial Wellness Programs in Higher Education

Do you work for a financial wellness program in higher education? Are you interested in sharing thoughts, practices, and curricular structures with your peers and gaining new ideas for programming, funding, and collaboration? If so, please attend our first ever LIVE completion session of the HEFWA Survey of Financial Wellness Programs in Higher Education. During the session, you will have time to anonymously complete the survey while communicating and networking with financial wellness peers across the country and the world. Anonymous results will be shared LIVE in REAL TIME, giving you immediate insight while saving time. Join us and contribute to your growing, vibrant community of financial wellness professionals!

Zach Taylor, Texas State University

Financial Wellness Research: Updates from the HEFWA Research Committee

HEFWA and the HEFWA Research Committee values both the practicing and researching of financial wellness in higher education. This webinar will feature the ongoing projects of the HEFWA Research Committee related to several important topics in the financial wellness space. These topics include financial wellness peer mentoring, under- and over-borrowing, financial decision-making, first-year programming, and many more. Also, stay tuned until the end for a special announcement of a new HEFWA member benefit available soon!

Zach Taylor, Texas State University
Jodi Kaus, Kansas State University
Mario Villa, University of Texas at Austin
Tristia Kayser, Columbia University
Helen Colby, Indiana University
Aly Blakeney, University of Delaware
Samantha Smith, Denison University
Lex Shawbaker, Penn State University

Better Together: Experiences with the ACE Mentorship Program

Starting or growing a financial wellness program is easier when you have access to a network of experienced professionals. It can be even better if you have a coach in your corner. The HEFWA Alliance Coaching Experience (ACE) connects new program directors to experienced industry mentors. Join us to learn from current ACE mentees and mentors as they share their experiences with strategic planning, implementing case management, and creating assessment tools. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, connect with others in the community, and find out how to get involved as a mentor or mentee.

Charah Coleman, University of California, Merced

Ceci Linton, New College of Florida

Joel Philistin, University of Pittsburgh

Gilbert Rogers, University of Oregon

Richard Simonds, University of Houston-Downtown

Claudia Villicaña, University of California, Berkeley