InvestmentNews’ Special Report on the Next Generation of Advisers offers a look at the Kansas State University financial planners program as well as interviews with some of the students participating in it.

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Students who participated in the Kansas State University graduate-level certificate in Personal Financial Planning did well on the March 2008 CFP® Certification examination.

The March pass rate for K-State students was 75%. This figure includes undergrads, certificate program and master’s degree students. This compared well with the national March 2008 pass rate of 57%.

Students who enroll in the K-State certificate program can obtain 18-credit hours of accredited graduate course work upon completion of the program. Students receive a graduate certificate from Kansas State University. The 18-credit hour program is also registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which allows those who complete the program to sit for the national CFP® certification examination. Many students opt to complete a master’s degree in financial planning at Kansas State University by applying credit hours towards their degree.

More information about the K-State graduate certificate program can be found at www.ipfp.k-state.edu or by calling 785.532.1480.

Students who participated in the Kansas State University graduate-level certificate in Personal Financial Planning did well on the July 2007 CFP® Certification examination.

The summer pass rate for K-State students was 75%. This compared well with the national summer 2007 pass rate of 51%.

Students who enroll in the K-State certificate program can obtain 18-credit hours of accredited graduate course work upon completion of the program. Students receive a graduate certificate from Kansas State University. The 18-credit hour program is also registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which allows those who complete the program to sit for the national CFP® certification examination. Many students opt to complete a master’s degree in financial planning at Kansas State University by applying credit hours towards their degree.

More information about the K-State graduate certificate program can be found at www.ipfp.k-state.edu or by calling 785.532.1480.

The competition finals were held April 19-22 in Minneapolis, Minn. This is the seventh year that a K-State team has participated in the competition finals. K-State also won the national title in 2005, 2003 and 2000.

This year’s winning team exemplifies the future of the financial planning profession. Team members, all seniors studying Personal Financial Planning, included three women – Julie Fletcher, Audrea Youngers, and Jamie Mager. This is the first time that a team of all women students has won the national championship.

“The K-State Financial Planning team has once again proven that K-State’s personal Financial Planning Program is one of the top such programs in the country,” said Bill Meredith, director of K-State’s School of Family Studies and Human Services. “Four national championships in seven years…it doesn’t get much better than that.”

The competition began when 30 to 40 universities and colleges received a case study from Ameriprise Financial, Inc. at the end of January. Teams of students then had the month of February to prepare a written financial plan for the case clients. The rules of the competition were simple. Students could only use word processing and spreadsheet software. No professional financial planning software could be used. Further, students could not obtain assistance from faculty or professional advisors. After each team had completed their plan it was sent to Minneapolis to be judged. K-State’s plan was one of the eight chosen for the final competition, which meant the team would move on to the final segment of the competition.

Once teams reached the final competition in Minneapolis, students were given a twist on the case’s scenario, which required them to redo a portion of the plan in one evening. The revised plan was presented the next day to a panel of judges. Team members were judged on their revised case analysis and presentation skills. Competitors also participated in a “Jeopardy” game where their knowledge of personal financial planning was tested. The K-State financial planning team won the best written plan portion of the competition and earned third place in the game portion of the competition. When all of the points were tallied, K-State came out on top of the competition. The second place winner was Texas Tech University followed by Slippery Rock University. With the win, the K-State’s personal financial planning program received a $10,000 scholarship gift.

The team’s academic advisor, John Grable, Ph.D., summed up the victory this way: “Many individuals who followed the competition remarked how unusual it was that a team of three women competed in the competition. In what is generally a male dominated profession it was a pleasant surprise to watch three talented young women, all of whom are entering the financial planning profession, compete head-to-head with the best and brightest college students in the country and win!

2006 National Champions!
Jamie Mager, Julie Fletcher, and Audrea Youngers

K-State has made it to the finals in the American Express Competition each of the seven years it has been held, bringing home first place four years and third place one year. $10,000 in scholarship funds is awarded for first place.

December 2005 Commencement

K-State Campus Manhattan, KS
December 9, 2005

Theresa Buschkamp (Summer 2005), John McEwan (Fall 2005), Samuel Brand (Summer 2005)

After taking all 42-hours in their master’s degree program at a distance, these three students traveled to the K-State campus in Manhattan to participate in the commencement ceremony December 9, 2005. Other students have participated in past ceremonies. The online degree program has no residency requirement, but several students have either stopped by to see the campus or participated in commencement, and we always welcome the opportunity to meet students and put a face with a name.