Here’s what Inside Higher Ed recently wrote about a new report from the federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission: “A new report from the federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission says that students lack financial literacy. The fix? Institutions should educate their students in this area via mandatory personal finance courses, the report says. Integrating financial literacy into core curricula, communicating with students about financial topics throughout their studies and using trained peer educators also are recommended.”...

The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program was explained in the recent dvm360 column, “Will the government forgive your veterinary student loan debt?” The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Economics team mapped out PSLP’s criteria for application and explored PSLF’s recent legislative review by Congress. Related resources: For more information about PSLF, visit AVMA’s PLSF webpage. If you or someone you know was denied from PSLF because you were not in the correct repayment plan, you may be eligible to receive funds under a Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness...

Research in medical and financial education has suggested that there are three key factors needed for knowledge retention and application: convenient timing, relevant subject matter and individualization. A new integrative approach to financial education incorporating these factors was developed by the Colorado State University (CSU) Financial Education Specialist (FES). The Journal of Veterinary Medical Education recently published the article, “Integrating Individual Student Advising into Financial Education to Optimize Financial Literacy in Veterinary Students”* which stated that the FES provides “one-on-one financial advising to DVM students” and “targeted curricular interventions and...

The July 9th episode of the American Veterinary Medical Association podcast “My Veterinary Life” featured Drs. Tony Bartels and Audra Fenimore. Besides discussing the benefits of being married to a fellow veterinarian, Veterinary Information Network’s Dr. Bartels gave advice on handling student debt and loan repayment options. MVL podcast locations: Apple Podcasts Spreaker Google Play (requires account) Spotify ...

A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper “Public Universities: The Supply Side of Building a Skilled Workforce,”* examined the effects of the persistent decline in state funding for public universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education provided commentary on the paper in “‘These Cuts Have Real Consequences’: A New Study Surveys the Damage of State Disinvestment in Public Universities”** and stated that less funding for the universities was “bad news” and “will continue to have, damaging repercussions, suggesting reason to be concerned about the future of public higher education.”...

Banfield Pet Hospital received a global Make the Difference Award on June 20 from its parent company—Mars, Inc.—for its Veterinary Student Debt Relief Program. Dr. Kirk Breuninger, who was the project manager for Banfield’s Student Debt Relief Program, accepted this award on behalf of the practice. "When I graduated from veterinary school, I had finally achieved a lifelong dream to be part of the profession I loved so much – but it came at a high cost," said Dr. Kirk Breuninger, Director of Strategic Planning, Banfield Pet Hospital. “Like most...

Payscale’s recent salary survey showed that a large majority of students with a college degree regret “something about their education.” In “Biggest College Regrets,” Payscale.com reporter Jackson Gruver wrote, “By far the most common regret reported was student loans. No matter how we cut the data, student loans was the number one regret reported.”  He adds, “[These] bleak statistics on the student debt crisis, and the lasting effects such a crisis will have on younger generations, has created a conversation about the true worth of higher education.”...

The Veterinary Debt Initiative (VDI) is committed to raising awareness and providing access to resources that enable pre-veterinary students, veterinary students and veterinarians to make highly informed financial decisions. Check out how VDI is leading efforts in the student debt crisis at these upcoming VDI-sponsored speaker events: AVMA Convention 8/2/19: The Market for Veterinary Education and How It Affects You! 8/3/19: Decisions, Decisions: Repayment Strategies for New Veterinarians 8/3/19: Contract Negotiations: Beyond Bargaining Games and Tactics AVMA Annual Economic Summit 10/22/19: Veterinary Debt Initiative Update at Summit Dinner Wellbeing Summit 11/19/19: The...

Nearly one in three VMAE members were on the June 20 VMAE | Live! inaugural webinar that featured Doug Raven, Angela Roberts, and Dr. Kevin Dajka sharing their insights on Effectively Messaging to Member Segments.  If you weren’t able to participate in the live session, a recorded version is available here in the VMAE webinar archive. VMAE | Live! is all about connecting our special network for input, insight and inspiration while exploring association management and professional issue topics.  VMAE | Live! will convene on the third Thursday of each month, starting at...

VMAE | ThinkWORKS 2019 held recently in San Francisco received rave reviews from participants whose comments ranged from “Home run!” to “The focus on education is critical to the missions of all our associations – the program was relevant, entertaining and useful.” If you weren’t able to attend (or did attend and want a refresher) VMAE is pleased to provide a sampling of observations from Elliott Masie, along with this link to an unedited, home-spun, embarrassingly authentic recording of the one-hour wrap-up session with Elliott. Here’s a compilation of Elliott’s Saturday...