The College of Human Sciences will add two new financial literacy classes to its curriculum next semester.

The additions are results of both an increased demand for the classes and students’ reportedly poor fiscal comprehension.

The college has provided approximately $15,000 to extend its curriculum to include the two fiscal comprehension classes, said Maurice MacDonald, professor and chairwoman of human development and family studies.

The classes were proposed for various reasons, but evidence showed a true need and desire for the additional education. For example, on average, students scored a shockingly low 54 percent on the online financial literacy quiz taken by 1,541 ISU students. In a separate poll of approximately the same number of students, more than two-thirds said they would be interested in taking a financial literacy class if it were to be offered.

Additional appeal for the new classes was generated by more and more students requesting the financial literacy workshops.

Doug Borkowski, lecturer of human development and family studies, said workshops are largely ineffective due to the limited amount of time available for such lessons.

“You’re just only briefly able to touch on things, and you’re done,” he said.

The primary focus in the development of the financial literacy classes was on the Financial Development for Young Adults course, originally titled Student Financial Survival. The class is primarily geared toward – but not limited to – freshmen and sophomores. The three-credit course will be offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings in LeBaron Hall. Its intended curriculum is expected to include financial issues that students can anticipate while in college.

“The class will include basic budgeting and management skills to have people keep track of spending,” MacDonald said. “It will cover [the handling of] student loans so they can be effective consumers and avoid developing a syndrome of taking out more loans than they need, so loans don’t become burdensome.”

The second of the two classes, simply called Financial Planning, will be offered once a week for two credits. The class will be geared toward soon-to-graduate seniors. The class, which will be held Monday evenings, will focus on job benefits and overall financial plans that students should expect to encounter upon graduation.

Borkowski said the two classes were essentially developed side-by-side, as they were both included in the same original grant proposal last spring. There is a possibility that with success, the classes may one day become required courses. For now, they will remain electives.

A strong aspect of the classes will be the support from the student body, MacDonald said.

Meghan Glennon, treasurer of the Human Sciences Council and senior in psychology, said she thinks the class will be especially beneficial in both the long and short term to students.

“It gives us tools and resources to implement later,” Glennon said. “I’m not expecting to come out and know how to itemize and do taxes, but I have a feeling I’ll be able to apply the knowledge. I’m extremely excited for this class.”