Ivy Tech, Hoosier Lottery Target Financial Literacy
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new financial literacy course aims to help Hoosiers on topics ranging from setting up a checking account to what to do after winning the lottery. Ivy Tech Community College and The Hoosier Lottery are partnering on the free, massive open online course. Ivy Tech Executive Vice President Jeff Terp says, in addition to teaching basic financial skills, the course can help students deal with debt and the cost of education. The school says senior-level KeyBank officials helped design the course. Terp and GTECH Indiana Chief Operating Officer Colin Hadden discussed the program with Inside INdiana Business Television Host Gerry Dick.
March 12, 2015
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — The Hoosier Lottery and Ivy Tech Community College today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with the goal of providing a free resource to adult Hoosiers seeking to increase their financial literacy.
The Hoosier Lottery and Ivy Tech are together launching a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), an educational experience using vignettes and interactive test questions to provide guidelines for Hoosiers on basic financial skills. The MOOC's content and benefits are initially being promoted to Hoosier Lottery winners and Ivy Tech students statewide, but the course is free and available to access by all adults throughout the State of Indiana by visiting www.LearnFinancialLiteracy.com.
Participants may learn various aspects of financial literacy and money management through four modules, ranging from budgeting money and managing credit to paying off debt and planning for retirement.
“I am pleased the Hoosier Lottery and Ivy Tech now offer this financial tool to Lottery winners, Ivy Tech students and adults throughout the State,” said Hoosier Lottery Executive Director Sarah Taylor. “We support responsible lottery play and encourage winners to seek counsel from a trusted financial professional or attorney before making decisions on how to manage their windfall.”
“Our financial investment to assist in the production of the MOOC exemplifies GTECH Indiana's commitment to corporate social responsibility, which is a pillar of the Lottery's annual business plan,” said GTECH Indiana COO & General Manager Colin Hadden.
“Partnering with the Hoosier Lottery to provide Ivy Tech students with a free resource on financial literacy is a win for our students,” said Ivy Tech Provost and Senior Vice President Dr. Mary Ostrye. “I am confident participants seeking to understand the basics of financial literacy will find the content useful upon completion of the course.”
February is a fitting month to make the financial literacy course available to Ivy Tech students, as thousands of students are in the process of applying for financial aid before the March 10 state deadline. More than 54 percent of Ivy Tech students receive financial assistance for their education through the form of federal Pell grants. As the recipients of financial aid, Ivy Tech aims to ensure students have the appropriate resources available to manage money and pay off debt should students obtain loans.
Interested Hoosiers can access the MOOC by visiting the following web address: www.LearnFinancialLiteracy.com. Participants who successfully complete the course receive a printable certificate.
The MOOC was produced by Indianapolis-based Creative Street Media Group, with financial literacy guidance from senior-level KeyBank officials. Financing to produce the MOOC was in part provided by GTECH Corp., the parent company to GTECH Indiana that works on behalf of the Hoosier Lottery in the areas of distribution, sales and marketing.
ABOUT THE HOOSIER LOTTERY: Hoosier Lottery distributions benefit every county throughout Indiana. The Hoosier Lottery contributes $30 million to local police and firefighters' pensions and $30 million to the Teachers' Retirement Fund. In fiscal year 2013, the Hoosier Lottery contributed $164.5 million to the Build Indiana Fund. To learn more about the Hoosier Lottery, visit www.hoosierlottery.com/givingback. Download the official Hoosier Lottery app and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Hoosier Lottery logos are available online.
ABOUT IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
Source: Ivy Tech Community College