Students come to Creighton to pursue a wide variety of different majors and interests, but this focus can often leave financial planning skills neglected or undeveloped entirely. 

The Student Leadership and Involvement Center is helping combat this problem with their event, The Finances of Life, designed to help students investigate what financial literacy means for them in their respective field. 

“Students are invited to participate in a passport type program where they are able to learn about different financial decisions they will make,” the SLIC said. 

Basic financial education is currently not required for undergraduates at Creighton, but some faculty have been receptive towards efforts to change that fact. 

“Financial education at Creighton should be required for all students” professor of economics and finance Kenneth Washer said, “Financial literacy can be a huge stressor for young people.” 

Students can enroll in basic finance classes such as BUS 303 or FIN 353 to learn about financial resources and planning for when they enter the workforce, Dr. Washer said. 

The Finances of Life event will feature several different stations including insurance information, healthcare plans, and advice on whether to rent or buy. 

The fair will be held on Tuesday, March 29th on the spine of the Kiewit Fitness Center. 

Some students around campus agreed with Washer’s sentiment and wished that there was a stronger emphasis placed on financial education. 

There are currently no mandatory financial education courses for students enrolled in Creighton University’s Colleges of Nursing or Arts and Sciences. This leaves financial education as a choice and a discipline that students must seek out from their own ambition. 

“I will definitely be attending,” College of Arts and Sciences senior Will Bunz said.“I feel that personal financial education is something I am always one step behind on.” 

But others felt that financial literacy should start before college and feel that Creighton already makes such classes widely available with multiple courses available each semester for interested students to apply themselves. 

“I would consider myself financially literate,” College of Arts and Sciences senior Andrew Rossini said, “and if I didn’t feel that way, I could become so by taking a couple electives from the business school.” 

Despite these differences, students and faculty alike agreed that basic financial education is a critical piece of undergraduate education as it is a skill useful to everyone in life.