Higher One Announces College and University Recipients of Financial Literacy Counts Grants

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Higher One, a leader in providing services to higher education administrators and students at more than 1,200 campuses across the U.S., is pleased to announce the fifteen recipients of its Financial Literacy Counts grant program, which awarded $51,000 in its second year.

Higher One launched the Financial Literacy Counts grant program to provide institutions with funding for student awareness campaigns, workshops, online financial literacy tools and other activities and resources that promote financial literacy and provide opportunities to increase students' personal financial management skills and abilities.

The fifteen colleges and universities selected to receive $51,000 through Financial Literacy Counts include:

• Columbus State University
• Florida Memorial University
• Georgia Perimeter College
• Goodwin College
• Indian Hills Community College
• Jefferson Community and Technical College
• Johnston Community College
• Madonna University
• North Central University
• North Lake College
• Northeastern Junior College
• Oklahoma City Community College
• Old Dominion University
• Pikes Peak Community College
• University of Louisville

"The number and strength of the creative proposals we received exemplify the need to provide financial literacy opportunities for undergraduates," said Mary Johnson, Financial Literacy expert at Higher One. "Higher One's work with over 1,200 campuses across the country is rooted in our commitment to develop real-world money management programs with our partner institutions. These grants help institutions create or implement this much needed and desired curriculum."

The winning proposals were selected based on their high levels of student involvement in planning and execution, quality, creativity, and impact on the percentage of undergraduate students on campus.

"We are excited and honored to receive the Financial Literacy Counts award from Higher One to help support financial literacy education for our students," stated Jim O'Neill, associate vice president at Madonna University. "The award will defray the costs of implementing new orientation workshops and enhance existing workshops targeted to the financial literacy needs of various groups of Madonna University students, such as first-year students, military veterans, residence hall students, and graduating seniors."

The Financial Literacy Counts grant competition was open to all non-profit, accredited institutions of higher education across the country. Higher One received applications representing 26 states and an array of four-year and two-year public and private institutions.

"Old Dominion University will use this grant as seed money to get our Student Financial Literacy Program, Monarch Millionaire, off the ground," stated Bill Edmunds, Acting Administrative Operations Officer. "Given that sixty students have already signed up for the program this fall, there is clearly a strong desire on our students' part to learn how to manage their personal finances."

Higher One believes that students can be financially responsible and, when given the necessary tools, can successfully live within their means. To that end, Higher One offers innovative student banking services based on choice. The company has dedicated resources to financial literacy including its Financial Intelligence online financial literacy course and the One For Your Money blog dedicated to the fundamentals of finances for college students.

Learn more about Higher One's dedication to strengthening financial literacy among students at OneForYourMoney.com or on Twitter at @MoneyTalkMary.

About Higher One: Higher One Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ONE) is a leading company focused on helping college business offices manage operations and providing enhanced service to students. Through a full array of services from refunds, payments, electronic billing, payment plans and more, Higher One works closely with colleges and universities to ensure students receive Financial Aid refunds quickly, can pay tuition and bills online, make on-campus and community purchases and learn the basics of financial management.

Higher One provides its services to approximately 10.5 million students at distinguished public and private higher education institutions nationwide. More information about Higher One can be found at HigherOne.com.

SOURCE Higher One