The A-State Scarlet to Black Program (“S2B”) will focus a large portion of its efforts on assisting first-year students at Arkansas State University. While many of the events will be open to any student, student immediate family member, or staff member at A-State, we will focus on helping first-year students understand their financial literacy issues and be able to make smart financial decisions.
There are multiple parts of the program. Some will be mandatory (First Year Financial Boot Camp) while other portions will not be. We want to encourage students to be active in the program and take part in all of the activities. Therefore, since this is all about money, we will be giving some away in the form of a $1,000 scholarship. The more activities you attend and complete, the more points you earn. Whichever first-year student earns the most points at the end of the academic year will receive the Scarlet to Black Financial Superstar Scholarship for $1,000. We will keep an on-going scoreboard of the top 10 students and their point totals throughout the year on the website and on social media.
This year’s competition begins on September 24, 2019 at 12:01 am and ends at midnight on April 30, 2020.
The activities (and point totals) for the competition are as follows:
Online Self-Paced Modules. A series of self-paced modules will be available in your Blackboard account that will focus on budgeting, credit, banking, investing, personal taxes, saving money in college, and adulting. Within each module will be videos and a short exam. Upon completion of each module and passing of the short exam, you will receive 65 points. Upon completion of all modules and exams, you will take an overall exam and upon passing will receive 45 points.
Live Workshops. Throughout the year, the S2B Program will host 10 workshops throughout the academic year. These workshops will be approximately 45 minutes long and will focus on in-depth discussions of specific financial literacy and personal economic topics. Upon attendance of a workshop, you will earn 40 points per workshop. In addition, at the end of each workshop you will receive a short questionnaire that will allow you to earn an additional 10 points upon completion.
Amazing Financial Race: A-State. The S2B Program will host a Financial Scavenger Hunt on campus. The students who participate will all start at one point on campus and receive a clue. The clue will lead them to the next spot on campus, where there will be someone to provide them with another clue, and so on, until the students reach the final destination. Each clue and destination will have something to do with financial literacy. The first student to arrive at the final destination will receive a monetary prize. All participants who sign up and participate in this event will receive 10 points. The 5th place finisher will receive 15 points, the 4th place finisher will receive 25 points, the 3rd place finisher will receive 50 points, the 2nd place finisher will receive 75 points, and the winner will receive 100 points.
Real World – College Time. The S2B Program will partner with A-State Phi Beta Lambda to host the Real World – College Time. The Program will consist of students making certain financial decisions about their next year in college, and then finding out the financial implications of those decisions. By attending and participating in the event, you will receive 75 points, with the ability to earn another 25 points by completing the questionnaire.
Real World – Real Life. The S2B Program will partner with A-State Phi Beta Lambda to host the Real World – Real Life. The Program will consist of students making certain financial decisions about the time when they leave college and begin their careers, and then finding out the financial implications of those decisions. By attending and participating in the event, you will receive 75 points, with the ability to earn another 25 points by completing the questionnaire.
Financial Family Feud. The S2B Program will host the Financial Family Feud Competition. In this event, the students will form teams of five and compete against other teams in a tournament of Family Feud-style games until a winner is crowned. All participants who sign up and participate in this event will receive 10 points. The 5th place finisher will receive 15 points, the 4th place finisher will receive 25 points, the 3rd place finisher will receive 50 points, the 2nd place finisher will receive 75 points, and the winner will receive 100 points.
Symposium on Financial Literacy and Career Aspects. The S2B Program will host a symposium with non-faculty and staff members of A-State to host discussions on different aspects of financial literacy and career aspects. By attending and participating in the event, you will receive 125 points, with the ability to earn another 25 points by completing the questionnaire.
Commercial on Smart Financial Decisions. You will create a commercial or public service announcement for a “smart financial decision” and submit the link to the S2B Program by March 20, 2020. The videos will be posted on the S2B Program Facebook page from 12:01 am on Monday, March 23 through Wednesday, April 1, 2020, where people can “vote” on the best video by “liking” it. The completion and submission of the video will result in 23 points, and the top video will receive 50 points.
Real Financial Skills. Beginning September 24, 2019 at 12:01 am, you are able to earn “points” by providing proof that you (a) have a bank account (50 points), (b) set up a real monthly budget (25 points), (c) complete the FAFSA (25 points), (d) applied for privately-funded scholarships (25 points), (e) went online and got your free credit report (25 points), (f) opened a savings or investment account (25 points), and (g) went somewhere in town and received a student discount (5 points per purchase with a discount up to 25 points).
Personal Asset Management. Students who take FIN 2013 Personal Asset Management during the Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, or Fall 2020 semesters will receive 200 points.
Total Possible Points for the A-State Class of 2023 will be 2,023 points.
Go Red Wolves!!
