Graduate Courses

Family Financial Planning
www.fcs.iastate.edu/rge/education/programs/
(Interinstitutional Program)
Contact: Mary Winter
Participating Faculty:

Iowa State University
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Mary Winter, mwinter@iastate.edu
Charles Hatcher, chatcher@iastate.edu
Sue Crull, suecrull@iastate.edu

Kansas State University
College of Human Ecology
Virginia Moxley, moxley@ksu.edu
Joyce Cantrell, Cantrell@humec.ksu.edu
John Grable, Grable@humec.ksu.edu

Montanta State University
College of Edcuation, Health and Human Development
Ellen Kreighbaum, ellenk@montana.edu
George W. Haynes, haynes@montana.edu
Deborah C. Haynes, dhaynes@montana.edu
Marsha A. Goetting, goetting@montana.edu

University of Nebraska
College of Human Resources and Family Sciences
Marjorie Kostelnik, mkostelnik2@unl.edu
Sheran Cramer,scramer@unomaha.edu

North Dakota State University
College of Human Development and Education
Greg Sanders, Greg_Sanders@ndsu.nodak.edu
Margaret Fitzgerald, Margaret_Fitzgerald@ndsu.nodak.edu

Oklahoma State University
College of Human Environmental Sciences
Lona Robertson, lona@okstate.edu
Glenn Muske, muske@okstate.edu

South Dakota State University
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Laurie Stenberg Nichols, Laurie_Nichols@sdstate.edu
Bernadine Enevdoldsen, Bernadine_Enevoldsen@sdstaet.edu

Family Financial Planning is an interinstitutional distance education program offered through the Web. The student selects a home institutuion, which grants the degree. After admission at the home institution, the student takes courses from each of the seven institutions: Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, Montana State University, University of Nebraska, North Dakota State University, and South Dakota State University. Upon completion of the curriculum, students are eligible to sit for the CRP® Certification Examination.
At Iowa State University, Family Financial Planning is a specialization within the Master of Family and Consumer Sciences degree program (MFCS-FFP) that consists of 42 semester credit hours, of which 12 credits must be taken from Iowa State University. Neither a thesis nor a creative component is required. Students typically complete the program in three years while employed full time. A computer with minimum specifications, Web access, and an e-mail address are required for completing the program.

FFP Graduate Certificate Program
The Graduate Certificate in Family Financial Planning consists of the six courses from the MFCS-FFP that contain the competencies required for the CFP® Certification Examination. Students interested in attaining the CFP® credential and not a master's degree should enroll in the certificate program. Courses included in the FFP graduate certificate program include: FFP 530, 540, 545, 555, 565, 583.

Admission Procedures: Admission to the FFP Certificate Program requires exactly the same procedures as admission to the Graduate College. See Graduate College section in the catalog.

Registration
Students choosing to receive their degree from Iowa State University complete all the admissions, registration and fee payment processes through ISU.

Courses Primarily for Graduate Students
FFP 520. Family Systems. Cr. 3. F. Research and theory related to family functioning throughout the life cycle, especially financial decision making during crisis and conflict. Emphasis is given to factors that shape family values, attitudes, and behaviors from a multicultural perspective. New and emerging issues critical to family functioning are addressed.

FFP 525. Family Economics. Cr. 3. SS. Major issues related to the economics of families including household production, and human captial development; the economics of crises, public policy and family life cycle spending, saving and borrowing; new and emerging issues in the field of family economics; special attention to the role of ethics in family economic issues. A theoretical and research perspective are used to illuminate the concepts in the course.

FFP 530. Fundamentals of Family Finanical Planning. Cr. 3. F. The nature and functioning of financial systems, including currencies, markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and supply/demand for land, labor, and capital. Focus is on the impact of global financial interdependence on individuals and families in the U.S. Current and emerging issues, as well as current research and theory relative to financial systems.

FFP 535. Financial Counseling. Cr. 3. S. Theory and research regarding the interactive process between the client and the practitioner, including communication techniques, motivation and esteem building, the counseling environment, ethics, and methods of data intake, verification, and analysis. Other topics include legal issues, compensation, uses of technology to identify resources, information management, and current or emerging issues.

FFP 540. Estate Planning for Families. Cr. 3. S. Fundamentals of the estate planning process, including estate settlement, estate and gift taxes, property ownership and transfer, and powers of appointment. Tools and techniques used in implementing an effective estate plan, ethical considerations used in providing estate planning services, and new and emerging issues in the field. Case studies provide experience in developing estate plans suitable for varied family forms.

FFP 541. Housing and Real Estate in Family Financial Planning. (Same as HD FS 541.) See Human Development and Family Studies.

FFP 545. Retirement Planning, Employee Benefits, and the Family. Cr. 3. F. Study of micro and macro considerations for retirement planning. Survey of various types of retirement plans, ethical considerations in providing retirement planning services, assessing and forecasting financial needs in retirement, and integration of retirement plans with government benefits.

FFP 555. Insurance Planning for Families. Cr. 3. S. An in-depth study of risk management concepts, tools, and strategies for individuals and families, including life insurance; property and casualty insurance; liability insurance; accident, disability, health, and long-term care insurance; and government-subsidized programs. Current and emerging issues, as well as ethical considerations, relative to risk management are discussed. Case studies provide experience in selecting insurance products suitable for individuals and family study of investment options for clients, including common stocks, fixed income securities, convertible securities, and related choices. Relationships between investment options and employee/employer benefit plan choices are studied. Current and emerging issues and ethics are an integral part of the course.

FFP 565. Personal Income Taxation. Cr. 3. F. In-depth information on income tax practices and procedures including tax regulations, tax return preparation, the tax audit processes, the appeals process, preparation for an administrative or judicial forum, and ethical considerations of taxation. New and emerging issues related to taxation are covered. Family/individual case studies provide practice in applying and analyzing tax information and recommending appropriate tax strategies.

FFP 570. Professional Practices in Financial Planning. Cr. 3. S. Challenges of managing financial planning practices including, but not limited to: business valuation, personnel, marketing, client services, ethics and technological applications. Relying both on a theoretical as well as an applied approach, students analyze case studies that provide relevant, practical exposure to practice management issues, with a strong emphasis on current research findings.

FFP 583. Investing for the Family's Future. (Same as HD FS 583.) See Human Development and Family Studies.

FFP 591. Practicum. Cr. 3-6. F.S.SS. Supervised experience in family financial planning.

FFP 595. Financial Planning - Case Studies. Cr. 3. SS. Prereq: Completion of FFP courses. Professional issues in financial planning, including ethical considerations, regulation and certification requirements, communication skills, and professional responsibility. Students are expected to utilize skills obtained in other courses and work experiences in the completion of personal finance case studies, the development of a targeted investment policy, and other related financial planning assignments.