User Group Meeting: Winter 2016 This meeting will be recorded for training purposes. Learn more about GradReady at nseds.com

Agenda Purpose and Goal Mike Huser, How UW-Platteville is using GradReady GradReady Program Guide - Update Product Enhancements Comments, Questions Next Meeting

Purpose and Goal

User Group Meetings help schools learn about: Initiatives at other schools Product enhancements Development of Program Guide Helpful resources to support engagement

Purpose and Goal User Group Meetings offer schools a venue to: Provide insight and feedback Get answers to questions Share success stories and challenges Hear from like minded colleagues in the field

User Group Feedback Create an Account/Password Retrieval Process o Option 1 = select three secret questions and provide answers, password retrieval requires correct response to a secret question o Option2 = no secret questions, submit Create an Account information, user receives and must click link to authenticate access, password retrieval is via link in password reset

Mike Huser – Let’s Get GradReady!

Why GradReady? Implementation began in February of 2015 We wanted a consistent message to give to students as we presented more classroom presentations on Financial Literacy and the importance of budgeting Wanted a program where we were able to track the progress of students throughout their time at UW-Platteville

Why GradReady? Simple to use and the cost to the student is FREE! Easily accessible from any device No Social Security Numbers needed Weekly/Monthly Reports help us track progress of students and what our focus needs to be moving forward

Implementation First test group was for students in our state awarded grant and their requirement of a financial literacy component Students enjoyed that they could be interactive with the program and had access at all times They became engaged in the process and learned from the information provided

Implementation After a successful spring semester of test groups, we determined that our focus would be our first year students Contacted Directors of Student Affair’s Organizations and Deans to introduce the product to the campus and create an implementation plan Presented to our New Freshmen on Opening weekend (approx. 500 students)

Who to get on Board? First and foremost was our academic colleges and our support staff Retention Groups/Committees Professors asked us to come in and speak to classes about the GradReady Program and all of the capabilities Stressed the importance of Financial Literacy on our campus and what that all entails with students

Who to get on Board? Stressed the need for students to have an opportunity to ask questions and get answers Included in our presentation the structure of our office and our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and effects it can have on students finances We made over 25 presentations this fall to students and have had several high schools inquiring about us coming into their schools in the future

Future Direction Goal is to continue to speak with and track the activity of first year students Moving forward we are looking at implementing more programs for continuing students (i.e. students getting ready to graduate, students with remaining balances) Providing sessions at our New Student Registration to have them become familiar with the program and for parents to be able to utilize as a resource

Future Direction Working towards pinpointing the needs of our students and focusing our presentations on those specific needs Training our Residence Life Staff on how to use the GradReady Program and utilize for programming options in their Residence Halls Continuing to develop relationships on campus so that the program can continue to be used as an asset across our campus

Future Direction Currently have over 800 students signed up for the program 600 of the registered students are first year students The statistics provided by GradReady helps us pinpoint the directions we want to take our financial literacy programming on campus

Future Direction – Group Discussion Questions for Mike? What ideas has this generated? What initiatives are you planning to launch to engage graduates in GradReady this spring?

Program Guide – Update

GradReady Program Guide School: Minneapolis Community & Technical College, MN Initiatives: Integrate GradReady into Addiction Counseling Degree Program, require participation as part of program’s wellness framework Incorporate GradReady modules into First Year Experience classes for non-traditional students

GradReady Program Guide School: Blackhawk Technical College, WI Initiatives: Initiate Support Sessions to help UNSUB borrowers complete required GradReady modules Require students with low “Life Factor” learning readiness scores to meet with FA to complete GradReady modules Introduce in-person entrance counseling sessions that utilize GradReady modules

GradReady Program Guide School: College of St. Scholastica, MN Initiatives: Integrate into existing programs: freshman online orientation, senior salute exit counseling, TRiO Student Support Services financial literacy course Use GradReady modules as part of “zero-credit” online personal financial course in Blackboard Use GradReady to facilitate a financial wellness experience within week-long freshman prep program

Product Enhancements

Usability Improvements Launched September Paths Getting Started Video Badges & Delighters

Outcomes Time Per Session: Average time per session increased 28% from just over nine minutes to nearly twelve minutes at the start of the

Outcomes Final Exams Taken: 52% of new Created Accounts completed a final exam in vs 2% in

Outcomes Increase in Knowledge: Final Exam scores show an average 68% improvement over the Pre-course Score Path 1 = 26.8% Path 2 = 72% Path 3 = 98%

Product Enhancements Auto Reminders - January 2016 As users create new accounts GradReady will encourage persistence by sending prompting s to users who have not completed the curriculum within a specific period of time

Product Enhancements

Update Money Skills Videos – April 2016 Update content and create new videos for the following topics: BANKING BASICS CREDIT BASICS GAUGE YOUR DEBT IDENTITY THEFT HOW TO FUND BUDGETING ROAD TO REPAYMENT

Product Enhancements Responsive Design – September 2016 Convert the current GradReady website to one with responsive design so students who use mobile phones or tablets instead of computers to access the resource can more easily persist through the education and guidance

Comments & Questions Next Meeting: April 20, 2016 at 2:00 CST

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