Academic success and well-being of college students: Financial behaviors matter (TCAI Report)

College students are at a pivotal time in their lives as they face financial independence and responsible decisionmaking. In moving from dependence to independence, they will chart a course with far-reaching consequences for their future happiness and security. The methods by which college students form desirable financial habits has been largely shadowed in supposition. Because the process is not yet understood, but is of tantamount importance to the future of young people, further study is imperative. Universities have a unique opportunity to influence the development of sound fiscal practices because they combine a pivotal time frame, an educational setting, and a population with newly emerging responsibility for their financial affairs. Further, young adults who are financially responsible as college students are more likely to become well-rounded, happier, and more successful alumni. The following report examines the financial behavior of undergraduate students at The University of Arizona. Specifically, the study examines cash management, credit management, savings, and risky credit use. We are interested in what elements influence financial behavior, and whether responsible financial habits affect students’ quality of life, including financial satisfaction, physical and mental health, academic satisfaction and performance, and life satisfaction in general. A total of 781 undergraduate students responded to our online survey. In short, we found as predicted, that sound financial decisions and practices are undoubtedly linked to a better life, in a variety of ways. The importance, then, of developing healthy financial habits cannot be overstated. As previously stated, colleges are in a unique position to assist this process, and in fact, we believe they have a responsibility to students as part of an overall educational framework. Specifically, our study found: Undergraduate students manage cash better than credit and savings. Students who have a positive attitude about cash management, find it easy to do, and feel a sense of accomplishment do better with cash management. Upper-class students, particularly seniors, demonstrate a surprisingly more careless attitude with regard to credit management. Being a first-generation college student, being financially independent, having a higher personal income, taking fewer credit hours, and living off campus also result in a riskier attitude toward credit use. Negative attitudes, spending less time on studies and more time on the job, and money management also seem to lead to unwise credit use. When it comes to saving money, upper-class students do worse than their lower division counterparts. Others who demonstrate poor saving habits are non-business majors, off-campus students, and those receiving financial aid. Again, students with negative attitudes and less financial knowledge are less likely to save money. Not surprisingly, our study shows that parents are important role models in encouraging responsible financial behavior. Parental support and advice are key, as are having parents who are married, more highly educated and who own a home. The support of college peers is also important, influencing students to develop good financial behaviors. In addition to its own rewards, responsible financial behavior leads to a better life. Performing desirable financial behaviors is associated with greater financial satisfaction, better physical and mental health, and higher grades. These findings have important implications for financial professionals, educators, campus administrators, and policymakers concerned about the well-being of college students. Promoting positive financial habits, according to this report, is likely to improve the overall well-being of college students, in addition to helping them meet their academic goals. Credit management and savings courses may be needed for undergraduates, especially upper-division students (who have worse financial behaviors than their lower-division counterparts). Timing is critical because seniors will soon be entering the job market and facing the financial decisions of independent living. Because it is a key component of students’ financial development, parental involvement should be supported and encouraged. In addition, peer education should be fostered, with colleges creating opportunities for students to learn from each other (especially in the areas of credit and savings). Special attention should be paid to financially at-risk students who are apt to engage in risky credit behaviors, with programs designed specifically for them

Financial Behavior and Quality of Life of College Students: Implications for College Financial Education

This paper reports preliminary findings from a study on financial behaviors of college students. Objectives of the study are to identify factors associated with financial behaviors and to examine associations between financial behavior and quality of life of the students surveyed. Results of bivariate analyses show that frequencies of performing positive financial behaviors are associated with many factors, such as attitude toward performing the behavior, perceived control, parental influence, peer influence, class standing, etc. In addition, performing desirable financial behaviors is positively associated with financial satisfaction, physical health, mental health, academic performance and satisfaction, and life satisfaction

Improving Diabetes Management for School Health Workers using a Live, Virtual Training Course

Background: Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Optimal school nurse and staff education is critical to creating a safe learning environment and influencing long term outcomes of students with type 1 diabetes. The purpose of this project was to develop a virtual continuing education diabetes management course for school health workers to improve their knowledge of diabetes management and evaluate the effectiveness of the learning platform. Methods: A total of 199 participants completed the live, virtual continuing education course. Participants completed a pre and post-test to assess improvements in the key learning objectives of the course content which included diabetes pathophysiology and delivery of appropriate diabetes care in the school setting. Results: There was an improvement in knowledge in all questions from the baseline pre-test scores to the post-test scores. 99% of participants responded that they would use what they learned from the course in their professional practice, and 97% reported that they were able to list at least one concept learned from the conference. 60% reported that the diabetes management course was exceptionally better when compared to other virtual events, and the overall rating of the course was 4.82 on a 5-point Likert scale. Conclusions: The live virtual diabetes management course for school healthcare workers was successful, with an improvement in participants’ knowledge of key diabetic management skills. The benefit of the virtual platform was the ability to expand beyond our local region to a larger audience outside of the state and could be adapted for other institutions to utilize. Appropriate and accessible training for school health workers is critical to ensuring safe practices for children with diabetes to attend and thrive at school

Human antibodies induce arthritis in mice deficient in the low-affinity inhibitory IgG receptor FcγRIIB

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex autoimmune disease with a poorly understood pathogenesis. The disease is associated with polyclonal B cell activation and the production of autoantibodies (autoAbs), but there is a longstanding controversy as to whether such Abs contribute to, or are secondary to, the pathogenesis of RA. To address the potential pathogenicity of human RA–associated Abs, we developed a passive transfer model involving mice deficient in the low-affinity inhibitory Fc receptor, FcγRIIB. We report that plasma or serum from patients with active RA can induce inflammation and histological lesions in FcγRIIB−/− mice consistent with arthritis, and that this pathogenic activity is caused by the immunoglobulin G–rich fraction. Our results suggest that humoral autoimmunity can contribute directly to autoimmune arthritis, and that FcγRIIB−/− mice are a promising model to evaluate the arthritogenic potential of human autoAbs

Evaluation of tarsal injuries in C57BL/6J male mice.

Tarsal joint abnormalities have been observed in aged male mice on a C57BL background. This joint disease consists of calcaneal displacement, inflammation, and proliferation of car- tilage and connective tissue, that can progress to ankylosis of the joint. While tarsal pathol- ogy has been described previously in C57BL/6N substrains, as well as in STR/ort and B10. BR strain, no current literature describes this disease occurring in C57BL/6J mice. More importantly the behavioral features that may result from such a change to the joint have yet to be evaluated. This condition was observed in older male mice of the C57BL/6J lineage, around the age of 20 weeks or older, at a frequency of 1% of the population. To assess potential phenotypic sequela, this study sought to evaluate body weight, frailty assessment, home cage wheel running, dynamic weight bearing, and mechanical allodynia with and with- out the presence of pain relief with morphine. Overall mice with tarsal injuries had signifi- cantly higher frailty scores (p\u3c 0.05) and weighed less (p\u3c0.01) compared to unaffected mice. Affected mice had greater overall touch sensitivity (p\u3c0.05) and they placed more weight on their forelimbs (p\u3c0.01) compared to their hind limbs. Lastly, when housed with a running wheel, affected mice ran for a shorter length of time (p\u3c0.01) but tended to run a greater distance within the time they did run (p\u3c0.01) compared to unaffected mice. When tested just after being given morphine, the affected mice performed more similarly to unaf- fected mice, suggesting there is a pain sensation to this disease process. This highlights the importance of further characterizing inbred mouse mutations, as they may impact research programs or specific study goals

The Lantern Vol. 64, No. 2, Spring 1997

• Year\u27s End, with Resolutions • Addicted • Muerte, Carlos • Motions • At the Wyeth Gallery • Between Contexts • I\u27m Allowed (and More Nonsense) • Wall and Piece • Timekeeper\u27s Workspace • The Process • Second Sex: A Portrait of the Artist as a Woman • On the Side of the Road • Joe • To Matthew Arnold • A Deep Sleep on Hydrocodone • Madness of a Night • Return • The Sudden Grave • A Farce • Twists of Fur • Ambiguity • The Odor of Continuums • My Father\u27s Daughter • The Meaning of Life • I Aim to Tell • Nobody\u27s Fanhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1150/thumbnail.jp