Center for Financial Education
Center for Financial Education moving to White Hall
The Center for Financial Education moves to room 226 in White Hall in the summer of 2021!
The Center, founded in 2020 thanks to a donation from Rob and Mary Logan Hoxton, provides a real-world learning lab for students. Currently located in the lower-level dining hall, the Center moves to room 226 in White Hall after renovations are complete in August 2021.
New financial planning center and lectureship established by Rob and Mary Logan Hoxton
Shepherd University will be home to a new Center for Financial Education and the Hoxton Endowed Lectureship for Financial Planning thanks to a $120,000 donation by Rob and Mary Logan Hoxton.
The Hoxtons are providing $20,000 in first-year seed money to create the center, which will promote financial education by creating curriculum and activities, raising money for scholarships, conducting research, and offering financial planning education to the community. They have committed to continuing this funding for an additional four years if needed and if other grants and donations are not obtained. The Hoxtons also donated $100,000 to create the Hoxton Endowed Lectureship in Financial Planning, which will support a faculty member in the College of Business, Recreation, and School who teaches in the financial planning program by providing discretionary faculty development funds.
The Hoxtons envision helping Shepherd further develop its financial planning program, which in turn would provide financial planning advice throughout the state and in the local community.
“We believe that education is really important, that financial literacy should be spread around, and that students can help provide some of that education in the community,” Mary Logan Hoxton said. “It’s a win-win. The students are learning and hopefully reaching other parts of the state and the local community.”
The Hoxtons hope the Center for Financial Education will not only attract students from the surrounding area, but from other parts of the state where there is a need for more financial education.
“We really want to do something that makes the world a better place, and these are the resources that we have and what we know, so it’s the easiest way to accomplish something positive,” Rob Hoxton said. “If we can improve financial literacy and the availability of high quality fiduciary financial advisory services by bringing students from other areas in Appalachia and teaching them to be great financial planners, then they can go back to their communities to provide those services in areas where it’s sorely needed. While students are here at Shepherd, they can build their resume and learn how to communicate the importance of sound financial basics to people who are maybe at risk in the immediate community. They might also be able to teach financial basics such as how to balance a checkbook to students at a local high school who are not gaining those skills through other classes.”
Dr. Ben Martz, dean of the College of Business, Recreation, and Education, said the new center and lectureship will help fill a void for students.
“One of the areas where graduates and young people fall flat is in financial planning,” Martz said. “This gets down to the nuts and bolts of financial literacy. It’s already helped the curriculum at Shepherd. We have a financial literacy class that is part of the university core. Every student at Shepherd has the opportunity to take this class and improve their financial literacy for the rest of their lives.”
Rob Hoxton said beefing up Shepherd’s financial planning program will also help fill a void in the industry.
“Every day roughly 10,000 baby boomers reach retirement age,” Rob said. “The average age of the traditional financial planner in America is about 58, so there’s a shortage of people to provide those services. The only way needs are going to be met is to encourage young people to pursue financial planning as a career.”
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is the ability to use financial knowledge and skills to understand financial choices, plan for the future, spend wisely, and manage the challenges associated with life events such as a job loss, saving for retirement, or paying for a child’s education. The acquired knowledge and skills will empower individuals to make informed judgments and financial decisions and to take effective actions regarding money management. The cornerstone of financial literacy is Personal Finance education, which provides the principles and methods that individuals use to acquire and manage income and assets. Financial literacy is not an absolute state; it is a continuum of abilities that is subject to variables such as age, education, family, culture, and residence. Financial literacy refers to an evolving state of competency that enables each individual to respond effectively to ever-changing personal and economic circumstances.
Shepherd University’s Financial Planning Program provides a comprehensive curriculum serving the needs of undergraduate students and working professionals. Our program is registered with and approved by the CFP Board of Standards and students who complete a CFP Board-Registered Program are eligible to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination.
Contact Information
Program Director
Janine Sam, Ph.D., CFP® jsam@shepherd.edu
Business Administration
Contact for the CFP Board of Standards:
Ben Martz, Ph.D. bmartz@shepherd.edu
Business Administration
Shepherd University
P.O. Box 5000
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
Financial Planning Club meetings are held in White Hall
Rural Financial Planning Project Advisory Council
Rob Hoxton, President
304-876-2619
RHoxton@hoxtonfinancial.com
Program Information
Shepherd University’s Financial Planning Program provides a comprehensive curriculum serving the needs of undergraduate students and working professionals. Our program is registered with and approved by the CFP Board of Standards and students who complete a CFP Board-Registered Program are eligible to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination.
Programmatic Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, graduates should be able to:
- Function as an articulate, competent and ethical Financial Planning Advisor
- Demonstrate mastery of the core financial planning knowledge required of a Certified Financial Planner® by passing the CFP® certification exam
- Utilize the intellectual and software tools within the framework needed to maintain relevant and current financial planning knowledge and strategies throughout one’s career in financial services
- Apply Financial Planning theory, strategies and techniques to meet clients’ needs through the development of case studies and solutions
CFP Board of Standards Degree Program Approval
Shepherd University is one of the CFP Board of Standards Education Providers
Accreditation
Shepherd University is Regionally Accredited by the Higher learning Commission (HLC).
The Financial Planning Program is in the School of Business under the Department of Business Administration and is accredited by the International Assembly of Collegiate Education (IACBE).
Program Curriculum
The Financial Planning program comprises 7 courses, 21 credit hours:
FINC 308 Introduction to Financial Planning
FINC 425 Investments
ACCT 335 Income Tax Planning
BADM 309 Risk Management and Insurance
BADM 427 Retirement and Employee Benefits
BADM 429 Estate Planning
BADM 431 Financial Plan Development (Capstone)
8 Principal Knowledge Topic Categories:
A. Professional Conduct and Regulation (7%)
B. General Financial Planning Principles (17%)
C. Education Planning (6%)
D. Risk Management and Insurance Planning (12%)
E. Investment Planning (17%)
F. Tax Planning (12%)
G. Retirement Savings and Income Planning (17%)
H. Estate Planning (12%)
A. Professional Conduct and Regulation
A.1. CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Rules of Conduct
A.2. CFP Board’s Financial Planning Practice Standards
A.3. CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures
A.4. Function, purpose, and regulation of financial institutions
A.5. Financial services regulations and requirements
A.6. Consumer protection laws
A.7. Fiduciary
B. General Principles of Financial Planning
B.8. Financial planning process
B.9. Financial statements
B.10. Cash flow management
B.11. Financing strategies
B.12. Economic concepts
B.13. Time value of money concepts and calculations
B.14. Client and planner attitudes, values, biases and behavioral finance
B.15. Principles of communication and counseling
B.16. Debt management
C. Education Planning
C.17. Education needs analysis
C.18. Education savings vehicles
C.19. Financial aid
C.20. Gift/income tax strategies
C.21. Education financing
D. Risk Management and Insurance Planning
D.22. Principles of risk and insurance
D.23. Analysis and evaluation of risk exposures
D.24. Health insurance and health care cost management (individual)
D.25. Disability income insurance (individual)
D.26. Long‐term care insurance (individual)
D.27. Annuities
D.28. Life insurance (individual)
D.29. Business uses of insurance
D.30. Insurance needs analysis
D.31. Insurance policy and company selection
D.32. Property and casualty insurance
E. Investment Planning
E.33. Characteristics, uses and taxation of investment vehicles
E.34. Types of investment risk
E.35. Quantitative investment concepts
E.36. Measures of investment returns
E.37. Asset allocation and portfolio diversification
E.38. Bond and stock valuation concepts
E.39. Portfolio development and analysis
E.40. Investment strategies
E.41. Alternative investments
F. Tax Planning
F.42. Fundamental tax law
F.43. Income tax fundamentals and calculations
F.44. Characteristics and income taxation of business entities
F.45. Income taxation of trusts and estates
F.46. Alternative minimum tax (AMT)
F.47. Tax reduction/management techniques
F.48. Tax consequences of property transactions
F.49. Passive activity and at-risk rules
F.50. Tax implications of special circumstances
F.51. Charitable/philanthropic contributions and deductions
G. Retirement Savings and Income Planning
G.52. Retirement needs analysis
G.53. Social Security and Medicare
G.54. Medicaid
G.55. Types of retirement plans
G.56. Qualified plan rules and options
G.57. Other tax-advantaged retirement plans
G.58. Regulatory considerations
G.59. Key factors affecting plan selection for businesses
G.60. Distribution rules and taxation
G.61. Retirement income and distribution strategies
G.62. Business succession planning
H. Estate Planning
H.63. Characteristics and consequences of property titling
H.64. Strategies to transfer property
H.65. Estate planning documents
H.66. Gift and estate tax compliance and tax calculation
H.67. Sources for estate liquidity
H.68. Types, features, and taxation of trusts
H.69. Marital deduction
H.70. Intra-family and other business transfer techniques
H.71. Postmortem estate planning techniques
H.72. Estate planning for non-traditional relationships
Learning Options
Learners enrolled in the program have the following three delivery options:
Traditional -in a brick and mortar classroom setting.
Hybrid -combines both traditional instruction delivery as well as online. Learners meet at specific time-intervals while the do most of the work online
Online -the program is delivered online
This program is uniquely supported by an advisory board of financial professionals through the Rural Financial Planning Project (RFPP). The mission of the RFPP is to improve the lives of rural Americans through the promotion of financial literacy and the delivery of financial planning by well-trained and ethical financial planning professionals.
The RFPP provides tuition assistance, mentorship, internships and career employment opportunities for students. Faculty members receive funding for professional development and research.
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