EAU CLAIRE, Wis.–Royal Credit Union here is piloting a new program aimed at making financial education more fun for students between the ages of 17 and 22.
During a pilot test of the program, a group of students played a giant Monopoly-style board game, with each student rolling the giant dice to find out how many spaces to move and answering trivia questions testing financial decision making, according to WIPride.com. Topics included managing a credit report, student loans, and interest rates.
The object of the game is to have the most money in the end. Prizes are awarded to winners, WIPride.com reported. The program is still in its early stages of development. A test was conducted last week to get feedback from participants.
Jennifer McHugh, director of Financial Education at Royal Credit Union, told WIPride.com the initiative is unique because it makes it easier to get students excited about making positive financial steps.
Better Than a Lecture
“Our financial education strategy is to really get active and engage with the students,” McHugh told the publication. “It’s one thing to stand up in front of a group of students and lecture them. We think it’s much more meaningful and beneficial for them when they’re able to do some of that hands-on learning that’s fun.”
RCU said the objective is to roll out the program in 2020, and then bring it to local schools.
RCU hopes to roll the program out sometime in 2020. Once functional, RCU officials would visit local schools to bring the game directly to students.