Institute offered in partnership with 

Spring Semester 2025
National Online
Personal Finance Institute
for Adult Educators & Service Providers

Empower adult learners to become better money managers for a prosperous future!

The overarching goal of this online Institute is to streamline adult educators’ learning of personal finance content by reviewing classroom-ready curricula and resources, including lessons, videos, infographics, PPT slides, simulations, games, etc. That is, personal finance content and instructional strategies are learned simultaneously to reduce instructional preparation time. Vetted by 23 years of experience, this professionally curated collection of 450+ resources features the greatest hits in personal finance education and is geared toward adult learners with limited education and income.  Basic economic concepts and reasoning skills are used a lens for making more informed and empowered financial decisions.

The experiential learning Institute is extremely flexible and accessible to a variety of adult education and workforce development audiences and easily customizable to different learning formats, including real-world contextualized instruction (e.g., GED math instruction), standalone semester courses, community workshops, one-on-one counseling sessions, etc.  Online modules are self-paced with practical, applied, and reflective assignments that can be reused with adult learners. Live Zoom classes feature breakout groups for WIOA and cross-state/agency networking, collaboration, and resource sharing.

Includes Certificate of Completion and Optional Certified Personal Finance Educator Credential and Digital Badge.

SAMPLE of CURRICULUM TOPICS

Aligned with National Standards for Personal Finance Education

PERSONAL FINANCE STATISTICS

Full “Making the Case” article and references linked here

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Any adult service provider who works in adult education, basic skills and HSE/GED programs, literacy organizations, workforce development, career coaching, employment centers, social services, aging and vocational rehabilitation, benefits/work incentives, disability services, corrections, veterans affairs, American Job Centers, Goodwill Industries, United Way, immigrant services, disenfranchised youth programs (alternative education, juvenile justice, Job Corps, etc.), foster care, substance recovery programs, homelessness aide, community colleges, and other like-minded nonprofit and government organizations.

ADULT EDUCATOR COMMENTS

The benefits of the Personal Finance Institute have provided me with a wealth of information that I can use to benefit the students and community I work with here on the Tohono O'odham Reservation in Southwestern Arizona.  I am the program administrator for the Tohono O'odham Community College’s Pre-College GED program. This program is currently online and provides academic support to individuals who have not completed their high school education. I have found a gem in the Personal Finance Institute on how I can reach our community members in a way that has never been done before. This new way is to use personal finance lessons and incorporate them into the GED content areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social Studies and the Arizona Civics exam which is required and fits nicely into the Personal Finance initiatives at the state level.

The Personal Finance Institute topics have imbedded skills in critical thinking, problem solving and personal engagement, all necessary skills to be successful in a GED program. The skills of listening, writing and speaking are all part of engaging the learner in the content areas of personal finance and all of this relates to being a productive citizen who is knowledgeable in the areas of personal finance. This also benefits a person who wants to learn more about personal finance to assist them in breaking the cycle of poverty in their own family and community.

The Personal Finance Institute provided me with a wealth of information that I have been able to use on a personal and professional level. I recommend this to all educators in Adult Education, High School and College.  I highly recommend the Personal Finance Institute to all para-professional, adult educators, administrators, business-oriented people and the everyday citizen to engage, reflect and see immediate results in their lives and respective programs.

Very glad to have met Dr. Ayers. A wonderful woman who works to serve the people!  Enjoyed the Personal Finance Institute.  Awesome Job in getting this set up for us Dr. Ayers!!  Anselmo Ramon, Chair of Workforce & Community Development, Tohono O'odham Community College, Arizona

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As the Director of Inmate Education and Training for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, I found the Personal Finance Institute to be extremely valuable.  Dr. Ayers has curated a plethora of educational resource materials covering all topics and in many formats.  She has presented these materials in such an accessible manner that I was able to use them as I progressed through this course to develop my own online course that I could offer asynchronously to the students at the MA DOC.  Jobs like mine are extremely busy and I often do not have time to research lots of materials and develop course material completely from a blank slate.  Dr. Ayers’ approach was very effective in helping me organize all the materials and then use them to develop and write a course I can present to my students in a very efficient manner.  My time in this institute was well spent and will result in great benefit to my students. Thanks for everything!   Dr. Bernie Audette, Director of Inmate Education and Training, Massachusetts Department of Correction

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As an adult educator, I appreciated having access to multi-media resources. This allowed me to interact with materials as a student, but then put on my teacher lens and decide how and what I am going to use with my students. It wasn't a cookie-cutter curriculum program! I can now take what I learned and tailor a course to meet the needs of my diverse group of learners.

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Before attending this Institute, I was not at all comfortable with teaching a personal finance class. I did not know where to start. Attending the Personal Finance Institute changed all that in 10 short weeks! The most beneficial aspect of the coursework is that it allows educators to learn the concepts and prepare their use in the classroom simultaneously. The educator has no need to sort through endless websites & resources to find the right one. It's already been curated to provide excellent classroom learning experiences in many different modalities so that all learners can be reached. Thank you! Your love for the material & belief in its importance made for a wonderful class experience.

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The Personal Finance Institute is one course that enriches both the personal and professional life. You will find the videos particularly engaging because even though they are short, they inform participant and leave an indelible mark on the viewer. Make it a priority to participate in the Personal Finance Institute and your financial literacy knowledge will change for the better.  Eugene Mensah, Lead for ESOL, Prince William County Schools Adult Education, Manassas, Virginia

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The personal finance institute for is imperative for adult educators, in order to effectively present financial literacy to our learners. The importance of financial literacy to the adult learner may not be overstated. Adult learners need financial literacy once they have completed their education and occupational training to further enhance their long-term success. Without a basic knowledge of financial literacy, we are doing a disservice to adult learners by not preparing them for what lies ahead.  The classroom ready resources provide adult education instructors the opportunity to review material and cater the instruction to the specific needs of the learner. Thank you!   James Johnson, ABE/GED Coordinator, Peninsula Regional Education Program, Newport News, Virginia

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The Personal Finance Institute has been an amazing experience. Dr. Ayers is passionate and  knowledgeable about personal finance, entrepreneurship and economics. She is an incredibly skilled educator who has dedicated countless hours of her career to researching and vetting resources and designing a personal finance course for educators that reflects the absolute best in personal finance curricula. The PFI course is broad and diverse with the flexibility to come away with a discerning eye for teaching resources and the tools to start using them in your personal context immediately and the ability to delve deeper into particular topics important for your context. For example, one of my students approached me with a personal finance question while I was taking the PFI course and I was able to help them find reputable sources. I would not have been able to prior to enrolling in this course. Thanks to this course I knew where to start and how to help my student find additional, more specific trustworthy resources.

Through this course I learned how to help my students start the difficult emotional conversations around money, conduct a personal finance audit, set SMART money goals, evaluate credit card offers, compare loan offers, and how to recognize and avoid financial scams. Additionally, I grew in my own confidence as a teacher because I know I now have access to the best teaching resources currently available for personal finance instruction.

Economics is about how people make choices about how to use their limited resources. What could be more practical to adult educators than an arsenal of tools to help our students make informed, empowered choices about their time, energy, and money? Personal finance is not just about bank accounts and taxes. It is about the skills and knowledge necessary to make better choices for yourself. If you are interested in learning how economics touches every area of life and passionate about empowering your students, I strongly encourage you to take this course!

Thank you for all the work you do! I am so grateful and appreciative of you and all the work you poured into this course!  Catherine Robbins, ESL Teacher, Laurel Ridge Community College, Middletown, Virginia

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The personal finance institute is a unique opportunity to learn about the content and consider how to use the resources with students topic by topic. You could easily take the information learned in Weeks 1 and 2 and create 2-5 hours of instruction that will be specific to your learners. There currently exists curriculum with excellent lessons that just don't quite fit with the adult learners I meet in my program. Now I have a set of resources I can turn to when the video in the lesson I'd like to use isn't age appropriate or the learning activity is a game that is geared toward children. Adult learners deserve content that is tailored to them and now I feel prepare to deliver that.  Thank you for this class, Cheryl. I was aghast when I got assigned personal finance last fall. I was totally floundering and doing my best to get by until the institute started. It really has been the best part of my school year. I met some really neat people and I am proud of myself for getting through PD that was both challenging and meaningful. I'll have much more fun teaching finance next year!

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A couple of years ago when asked to teach a personal finance class, I struggled to find resources for my class as well as what information I should include in the class.  The most difficult part was finding short clips that included lots of information.  This class gave me all the information I need to cover in a personal finance class and resources to complete the task.  With using the resources provided by this institute my students would complete the course as informed and educated on their individual financial status.  Thank you, Dr. Ayers, for another job well done!