Iowa State’s Financial Counseling Clinic has a new director and soon will have a new facility.

Mark Oleson, assistant professor of human development and family studies, is the new clinic director. Oleson came to ISU this year from Utah State University, where he also worked in a financial clinic.

“Utah State and Iowa State are the only two universities in the country that have university-run financial counseling clinics on campus,” he said.

The counselors at the clinic are trained to help clients establish goals, set up and follow through on a budget, deal with financial crises and get out of debt, according to the Family and Consumer Sciences student newsletter.

The clinic soon will move from its current location in 1085 Elm Hall to the new Palmer Building, which is under construction.

Oleson said the clinic’s new location will give ISU a boost.

“Iowa State is really the best university in the country for faculty as well as students interested in teaching or being educated in the area of financial counseling,” he said.

Oleson also has several goals for improving the clinic, including making it more visible to both students and the Ames community, as well as expanding and having more regular hours. The clinic is open this semester from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and evenings on an arranged basis. It is open for walk-ins or by scheduling an appointment.

Oleson said he does quite a bit of the counseling, but he would like to have enough student counselors to provide services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He also wants continued service available during the summer months, he said.

“I have made myself available in a counseling capacity for clients when student counselors were unavailable to meet,” he said. “This was not done in the past.”

The clinic is a nonprofit service funded by the Government of the Student Body. Most clients are students, who can use the service for free, although non-students may use it for a minimal fee, based on the individual’s ability to pay, Oleson said.

Each person is helped differently depending on the need, but the primary goal of the clinic is to “help people help themselves,” Oleson said.

“Financial problems are growing at an astounding rate and will always be a primary need, particularly for students,” he said.