For some students, managing money, including financial aid can be a nightmare. Between refund checks, loan names, interest rates and account information, students often make crucial mistakes in the loan lending process. To help students efficiently budget their education and successful manage their finances, Southern hired Louis Deluca as the new Coordinator of Financial Literacy and Advising.
Prior to taking on the new position, Deluca worked in Southern’s Office of Financial Aid as the associate director for ten years.
“I am the personal financial literacy advisor for all Southern students.” said Deluca. “I will teach financial responsibility on such topics as on-time bill payment, timely degree completion, budgeting, scholarship applications, debt management, increased long term savings and successful money management.” These new services will help both students and parents to cope with the cost of education.
Prior to the introduction of this position, Southern did have and still has an Office of Financial Aid on campus. Deluca explains how the new position differs from the old system. He said, “This position is just more in-depth personalized financial planning for short- and long-term financial obligations.”
“I work with students and families to develop strategies for affording their college degree,” said Deluca. “This position, unique in Connecticut higher education, was a result of the President Papazian’s Student Success Task Force report with a goal of student financial success.”
The Student Success Task Force was originally created to examine and improve key areas of enrollment management and create a clear path to a college degree, according to the school website.
Deluca will work with students on an individual basis creating customized plans for every student, keeping the student’s academic plan in mind so they can complete their degree in a timely fashion. In other words, the individual planning ensures that the student graduates as soon as possible, so extra loans don’t need to be accrued. This service aids in cutting down unnecessary spending and looking closely at interest rates.
Deluca advocates a general rule of thumb when it comes to financial. The six Ps: Prior, Proper, Planning, Prevents, Poor Performance. Simply put, there is a value in planning.
Students can expect a lot coming out of the Financial Literacy Office in the coming semesters. “I will conduct presentations in and out of the classroom on campus and in the greater New Haven community, utilize email communications for outreach and work collaboratively with faculty, staff and administrators for student financial literacy services.” said Deluca.
“Some goals are to empower students with an immediate and future plan to pay for college while increasing student retention and graduation rates in addition to embed financial knowledge and responsibility by providing personalized strategies for lifetime financial success,” said Deluca.
This personal approach to financial planning in the key ingredient in this new position. Often times, students take it upon themselves to handle their own finances and they end up making mistakes that can potentially cost them thousands of dollars. The introduction of Deluca sets out to combat this dire need for guidance.
You can find more information of Deluca as well as helpful tips on the Office of Financial Literacy and Advising page.
Photo Credit: Morgan
