NEWS

iGrad offers tools for financial success

New platform helps with budgeting, planning, money management and more.

Learning to budget and manage money is a big step – one many people often take for the first time during their college years. From paying rent and grocery shopping for the first time to building credit and preparing to repay loans, it is an undertaking that can feel intimidating for students who are unsure where to begin.

That’s why Central Michigan University introduced iGrad, a new financial wellness platform that helps students, faculty, staff and alumni better manage their personal finances and plan for their financial futures.

iGrad allows users to build a customized profile around their personal financial situation and then provides resources to begin working towards their needs and goals. Resources include:

Quizzes, videos, articles, courses and a library of multimedia content.
A student loan tracking tool that aggregates student loan balances and estimates monthly payments.
Interactive educational content on retirement and mortgages.

iGrad is provided by the Financial Wellness Collaborative, an initiative of CMU’s Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center. iGrad is one of many tools included in their efforts to build students’ financial literacy as they navigate college.

Symantha Misale Dattilo, assistant director for the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center, said they encourage students to get started on the iGrad platform, but that it is only a jumping-off point for financial education.

“Our team also offers one-on-one peer sessions with trained student coaches to create a personalized plan to a student’s situation,” said Dattilo. “We also offer presentations for classes and groups on topics including building a budget, creating savings plans, learning basic credit information, preparing for debt repayment, and understanding job and salary offers.”

The Financial Wellness Collaborative also hosts drop-in sessions for students throughout the school year. These are held in the Volunteer Center in the Bovee University Center and do not require pre-registration.