Download Des Moines Register 10-19-07 Credit cards received first, then, maybe, financial literacy

Des Moines Register
10-19-07
Credit cards received first, then, maybe, financial literacy
It is amazing that Iowa State University is just now debating the merits of a
course in financial literacy. Des Moines Area Community College has used the
more pedestrian name "Personal Finance" for the many years it has been
offering the course, but the students understand it is more than a life-skills
course.
The use and misuse of money creeps into every facet of our lives. It is incredable
that our universities refuse to recognize the significance of this area of study.
It is this denial that has relegated the course to elective status since it is not
recognized as a required course as students transfer from DMACC to other
institutions. The issue should not be its status as a required course in college, but
whether or not it should be required in high school, before the first credit-card
offer arrives in the mail.
Among the many areas of learning in the course, we try to help students
recognize a bargain. In an effort to practice what we preach, the tuition for
Personal Finance at DMACC is approximately $300, and the total cost for the two
required books at the West campus is $22.
David Levy,
instructor, business administration,
DMACC, West campus,
West Des Moines.