Mission:
To increase financial literacy and financial health related education across the campus for staff, faculty, and students.
Projects:
Draft Goals:
*Please note that these goals were drafted by the Environmental Health Sub-committee of the Healthy Campus Network and are still in the vetting process. If you would like to give feedback on these goals, please email the Sub-committee Chair Stacey Eymann.
Short-term Goals:
- To create an emergency housing plan for students who face eviction or unsafe living conditions.
- Offer additional workshops to staff and faculty who are seeking housing listings within their budget.
- Increase awareness of the AS Food Bank and other food security resources.
- Increase awareness of the new Fidelity workshops.
- Offer frequent feedback to Fidelity on whether financial workshops are meeting staff and faculty needs in coordination with other campuses who are also working with Fidelity.
- Encourage departments to offer work release time to attend Fidelity workshops.
- Collaborate with new student programs such as STEP and Freshman Summer Start Program to expand their financial workshops.
- Raise awareness about public loan forgiveness programs, college savings plans, emergency loans, and financial planning resources.
- Promote public loan forgiveness as a recruitment incentive for prospective employees.
- Update Money Matters booklet and distribute more widely.
- Identify potential opportunities to reduce food insecurity of staff and faculty.
- Launch a student farm capable of growing food for food insecure students.
Mid Term Goals:
- Establish a housing co-op for staff and faculty.
- Provide a year round storage unit (physical space) for students, staff, and faculty to use during move in/move out periods or between leases.
- Explore alternative meal plan options will be based on a sustainable business model as well as accommodating student requests.
- Increase the maximum number of meal vouchers available for students. Seek opportunities for collaboration between the Swipes program and the Financial Crisis Team’s meal voucher program.
- Increase low cost food options that are available on campus.
- Offer a shuttle service to help AS Food Bank clients get their produce home.
- Integrate EBT into all stores on campus that could potentially accept EBT.
- Increase awareness of retirement options and lower number of staff/faculty who default selection.
- Offer more workshops on seeking and applying for scholarships.
- Require students to log into their loan history before taking out additional loans.
- Require students to create a plan for loan repayment prior to graduation.
Long-term Goals:
- Offer subsidized moving services to students.
- Provide a financial and retirement consultation area for staff and faculty.
- UC or UCSB providing a statement of support to encourage supervisors to allow employees to take work time to access campus services.
- Increase EOP/AS Grants for low-income first generation students.
- Create a budgeting app/tool for students to plan their finances.
- Require budgeting course prior to loan increases.
Visionary Goals:
- Construct more on-campus housing and purchase more housing near UCSB.
- Promote use of engagement committee’s digital bulletin board for staff and faculty.
- Integrate staff and faculty housing listings into new OrgSync pages for staff and faculty.
- Offer (or mandate) a financial aid/literacy seminar for freshmen.
- Increase affordable childcare on campus for students, staff, and faculty.
- Increase financial support/aid for low-income and first-generation students.
- Increase the number of work-study jobs available to our students.
- Ensure all workers have a retirement plan suited for personalized individual needs.