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Decision Partners Releases Financial Literacy 101 for College Version 2.0
Next Generation Financial Literacy Tool

Boston – January 25, 2007 – Decision Partners, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, today announced the release of Financial Literacy 101 for College 2.0, the next generation of their online financial literacy education course. The newly revised course offers a host of refinements that further promote the core mission of the program – helping students make responsible financial decisions while in college.

Financial Literacy 101 for College is an immersive, multimedia experience that teaches students the skills they need to navigate the many financial challenges they face as newly independent adults. The course starts by encouraging students to think about their financial goals in the context of becoming a “financially healthy” student – a new concept that stresses the role of personal responsibility in financial success. The course then engages students with the practical knowledge they need to realize their goals, including budgeting, banking, understanding credit, managing credit cards, and preventing identity theft. In about an hour, students learn the key financial skills they need to avoid unnecessary debt – an important strategy in reducing the overall expense of higher education.

"We’re thrilled to bring this revised course to the aid community," said Austin Jackson, CEO of Decision Partners. "Our pilot program showed us that financial literacy is an issue that greatly concerns schools, students and parents. We hope that financial aid and student affairs administrators will come to see the course as an effective, easy to administer way of providing campus-wide financial literacy education."

The course revisions were based on feedback from hundreds students, financial aid advisors, student affairs officers, lenders, and parents who took the course during the 2006 pilot period. Key revisions include:

• A streamlined, two-part course experience.

• Self-directed content options.

• A redesigned, two-part exam structure .

• A new visual design.

• New content on internet bankings.

• Improved calculators.

• Improved options for parents to engage with the course.

Financial Literacy 101 for College seeks to not only disseminate financial knowledge, but also to truly educate students about money and the many factors that influence their spending decisions – from aggressive corporate marketing to peer pressure. The course does not tell students what to do; rather, the course is filled with exercises that help them question potentially unrealistic expectations about their financial attitudes and behaviors, helping them make informed decisions that are right for them. Further, the course also links financial decisions made in college to concrete post-graduation consequences, leading to what many course participants called “ah ha” moments.

After the course, students enjoy continual access to their "My Student Aid" page – a personalized webpage that organizes the comprehensive tools and resources available through Financial Literacy 101, including an online financial journal, a personal notepad for each content area, all the interactive calculators used in the course, personalized course and website bookmarks, comprehensive textual resources, downloadable fact sheets, and complete course review capability.

The course is paid for through educational lender sponsorship or through school funds. As a non-profit, Decision Partners offers pricing plans that are manageable for even the smallest schools.

For more information about Financial Literacy 101 for College and for a complementary course access code, please contact Jim Pfeiffer, VP of Customer Development, at jim@decisionpartners.org or by phone at (978) 562-1390.

About Decision Partners

Decision Partners, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on improving the lives of students through innovative online learning programs. Founded in 2004 and based in Boston, MA, Decision Partners is a catalyst for change, cultivating innovative concepts for improving student life and implementing learning programs for putting those ideas into action. The organization currently offers two cou