Financial Planning - November 2012

Kaplan University Online with classrooms in New York and San Francisco, as well as several private corporate programs CFP Board-registered programs: 3 in total: Self-paced and accelerated online programs, plus in-person classes at 12 U.S. universities Enrollment: Not available Faculty: 7 full-time, 20 adjunct Student-to-faculty ratio: Not available Tuition: Accelerated virtual or traditional classroom $5,599, including a review course; self-study $4,043. FPA student chapter: Kaplan is an institutional member of the FPA Profile: A big name in education and for-profit test preparation, Kaplan University says it takes pride in the high number of students who take and complete its financial planning courses — but it won’t reveal that number, citing competitive reasons. The 10-year-old program crosses boundaries between traditional classroom and online study, allowing students to customize study tracks to suit their schedules. This means high flexibility for students of all backgrounds. “Of all the things this program offers, we are most proud of our throughput rate, or completion rate,” says school Vice President Joyce Schnur. “[It] is attributed to the flexibility of our program that is sensitive to the needs of our students.”

new yorK University New York CFP Board-registered programs (online and in person): 1 certificate Enrollment: 729 combined Faculty (full-time and adjunct): 8 (all adjuncts) Student-to-faculty ratio: 13: 1 in classroom Tuition: $5,540 for traditional classroom program, $5,650-$7,500 for a “live” online course, $2,495-$4,295 for

FPA student chapter: No Profile: New York University’s certificate program offers students the flexibility to complete coursework in one of three ways — in person with an instructor, live online and led by an instructor or self-paced online. Geared toward professionals and college graduates, the program leverages NYU’s geographic advantage, offering students a great number of opportunities to work with companies in the city.

northwestern University
Chicago and Evanston, Ill.
CFP Board-registered programs
(online and in person): 2 online and 2
classroom certificate programs
Enrollment: Almost 240 online, 90
classroom
Faculty: 20 adjunct
Student-to-faculty ratio: 16: 1
overall
Tuition: $5,545-$6,050 for classroom
program, $5,600-$7,500 for online live,
$2,495-$4,295 for self-paced online
program
FPA student chapter: No
Profile: Northwestern’s financial
planning certificate program is
undergoing a massive overhaul this
year. The new curriculum, devel-
oped closely with the CFP board, was
a “happy accident,” says Peter Kaye,
assistant dean of undergraduate and
professional programs at Northwest-
ern. The timing of the program’s
revamp coincided perfectly with the
CFP board’s release of new learning
objectives, giving Northwestern the
opportunity to reconsider its course-
work with the board’s recommenda-
tions in mind. As a result, practical-
ity rules at this institution, with the
classes designed to simulate a finan-
cial planner’s daily life. “We wanted
the curriculum structured in such a
way that it’s not just a means of pre-
paring for an exam,” Kaye said. “We
really want to have an educational
program that reflects the skills that
people need to do the job well pro-
fessionally.”

UCla

Los Angeles

CFP Board-registered programs: traditional evening/online program and accelerated hybrid Enrollment: 250 to 300 Faculty: 20 adjunct instructors Student-to-faculty ratio: 20: 1 for traditional evening/online, 15: 1 for accelerated hybrid Tuition: $4,287 to $4,750 for certificates, depending on options; $1,000 for CFP exam review FPA student chapter: Yes Profile: Every quarter, the University of California at Los Angeles Extension runs two programs that are CFP Board certified. Its newer program, revamped this year, is a six-course accelerated hybrid track in which students meet monthly for three days of in-person instruction, followed by seven days of online review and testing. “The [accelerated] students have to have three years of experience to enroll, so that is primarily for veteran financial advisors who want to get to the exam more quickly,” says Rich Burnes, the director of UCLA’s financial management programs. “Many of our undergraduate students have at least an undergraduate degree [if not] a master’s degree, so they are not looking for a degree, but they need this body of knowledge.” Burnes says he often refers graduates who want to pursue a degree to Cal Lutheran’s program, which accepts UCLA course credits. FP