2026 Teaching Personal Finance Conference Program and Updates from the Network
Dear Members of the Teaching Personal Finance Network,
Welcome to the summer edition of our newsletter. We start with exciting news: the program for our 2026 Teaching Personal Finance Conference on September 25 is now finalized. This year's program features a keynote from economist Justin Wolfers and sessions on some of the most timely topics in the field, from AI in financial education to sports betting among young people to building wealth early in life. If you have not yet secured your spot, there is still time. The extended deadline is August 31.
This issue also features a conversation with Prof. Ann Marie Hibbert about West Virginia University's Center for Financial Literacy and Education, an update from Prof. Caezilia Loibl on the courses she has built at The Ohio State University since attending the conference, news of a new National Consortium on Education Savings Research, and much more.
We look forward to welcoming you to Stanford on September 25!
Warmly,
Annamaria Lusardi
Faculty Director
Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making (IFDM)
Register: 2026 Stanford Teaching Personal Finance Conference
Friday, September 25, 2026 | Stanford University
The conference brings together personal finance and financial literacy educators from public and private colleges and universities across the nation and from a select few countries abroad. The aim is to exchange ideas and build connections that carry well beyond the day itself.
This year's program features a keynote address from economist Justin Wolfers on bringing economic and financial thinking to everyday life, alongside sessions on urgent and emerging topics in personal finance education today, from AI in financial education to building wealth early in life to sports betting. Other sessions will discuss how personal finance is taught in other countries, how universities and colleges can help teach high school students and teachers, and the role of data and research in personal finance teaching. We will also hear from educators who have built new personal finance courses from the ground up.
The event takes place on the Stanford campus and is organized by the Stanford Initiative for Financial Decision-Making. If you have not yet secured your spot, write to stanfordifdm@stanford.edu to request an invitation by August 31, 2026. Some financial support is available on a case-by-case basis.
Feature: From Our Conference to 1,000 Students
Prof. Caezilia Loibl of The Ohio State University attended the Teaching Personal Finance Conference and returned to campus with a plan. What followed shows what this network can do.
Ohio State's new General Education course, "Women & Money: Citizenship in a Modern World," enrolled 1,000 students in its first offering this spring, which was the maximum for a single section. It is on track for 1,500 students this autumn.
"Your conference provided me with hands-on information on personal finance topics to include, ideas for citizenship concepts, and very valuable insights on AI and corporate partners," Prof. Loibl said.
Ohio State recently approved a second General Education course she developed, "The Science of Personal Finance," placed in the university's "Number, Nature, Mind" category to attract students with a science focus. Each week, a math concept from the natural sciences is paired with a related finance concept and its application to consumer decision-making. The course debuts in spring 2027.
News: The National Consortium on Education Savings Research (529 Consortium)
529 plans are among the most powerful tools families have for building wealth early in life, yet they remain underused and poorly understood. As personal finance educators, helping students and parents understand how education savings works is an opportunity to make a real difference.
To advance this work, IFDM and the University of Chicago Becker Friedman Institute for Economics have co-launched the National Consortium on Education Savings Research, convened by the National Association of State Treasurers through its education savings network, The 529 Network, and supported by the National Endowment for Financial Education. The Consortium brings together researchers, state treasurers, and program administrators to better understand how families engage with 529 plans and how to expand participation among those who have been underserved. We look forward to sharing more as the research gets underway and to bringing these findings into the classroom.
Q&A: Prof. Ann Marie Hibbert, West Virginia University
IFDM speaks with Prof. Ann Marie Hibbert, Chair of the Center for Financial Literacy and Education (CFLE) at West Virginia University (WVU)
The CFLE was founded in 2015 with a mission tied to WVU's land-grant mission and the West Virginia Forward movement. What was the university responding to, and how has the work evolved since you came on board?
The founding mission focused on expanding financial literacy through teaching, research, and statewide outreach, influencing students, teachers, state employees, and communities across West Virginia. The landscape shifted significantly in 2023, when West Virginia became the 18th state to require every high school student to complete a personal finance course to graduate. That mandate expanded the need beyond delivering financial education programs to building statewide financial capability through scalable partnerships, research, and educational innovation.
Do you offer a personal finance course, and how many students take it each year?
We offer two courses with a personal finance component. FIN 370 is dedicated to personal finance and serves finance majors and minors, with roughly 150 students enrolled across in-person and online sections. BCOR 340 is a broader business finance course required for all business majors, with personal finance comprising a significant portion of the content. It enrolls more than 1,000 students annually and is also available to business minors. Together, these courses reach a meaningful share of our undergraduate population each year.
Your peer financial coaching program reaches first-year students through the WVU 191 course. What have you learned from it?
The program, which launched in 2023, pairs students who are training to become financial advisors with first-year students as real clients. One thing I have learned is just how powerful peer learning can be, especially as a complement to what students are already absorbing in the classroom. Coursework gives them the concepts, but coaching gives them the chance to apply those concepts to their actual lives, with someone who understands exactly where they are. Students are far more candid with a peer than a professor. When a coach says, "I have student loans too. Here is how I read the fine print," it lands in a way that a lecture simply cannot replicate.
WVU's Student Athlete Financial Literacy Program is the first required personal finance course for Division I scholarship athletes. What prompted it, and how has Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) reshaped what you teach?
The program launched in spring 2022 and grew out of a desire to give student-athletes something more than the ad hoc sessions we had been offering. An alarmingly high number of professional athletes experience financial distress after their playing careers end, and NIL reinforced the urgency. Athletes now understand they need this knowledge before graduation, not after.
Finance University recently celebrated its 24th edition. Could you describe the program and what has changed over time?
Finance University is a university-level immersion for West Virginia high school educators and one of only two pathways teachers can use to earn the state endorsement to teach personal finance. Demand has skyrocketed since the 2023 graduation requirement passed, and sessions now include timely topics like cryptocurrency and AI. We work hard to remove barriers, covering accommodations and meals through philanthropic support, because we want nothing standing between a teacher and the training they need.
What advice would you give educators at other institutions hoping to build similar initiatives?
Think about the ripple effect. When I reach one teacher at Finance University, I reach their students, their families, and their communities across generations. We would never let a student leave without a polished résumé. We owe them the same preparation for their 401(k). Financial stress is one of the leading reasons students drop out, and what we teach them, from building an emergency fund to reading the fine print on a loan, has an immediate impact. This work is not one-size-fits-all. From students who grew up close to Wall Street to those from Mingo County, WV, we want them all to succeed.
Read more about the Center for Financial Literacy and Education
Celebrate: Prof. Joseph Fitter
Congratulations to Prof. Joseph Fitter of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, recipient of the Indiana University Trustees' Teaching Award, one of the most prestigious teaching honors in the university system.
At Kelley, Prof. Fitter teaches corporate finance, investments, and personal finance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and in 2015 co-developed a graduate personal finance course that continues to draw strong enrollment.
Reflecting on the award, Prof. Fitter wrote that he teaches because he sees "both immediate and long-term impact." Congratulations, Prof. Fitter, on this well-earned honor!
Listen: Econ To Go
Prof. Lusardi joins Neale Mahoney, Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, for the Season 1 finale of Econ To Go.
The conversation covers why financial literacy has become an essential skill in an increasingly complex economy, how gaps in financial knowledge shape long-term wealth outcomes even among people with similar incomes and education, and what individuals, employers, and regulators can each do to close those gaps. It ranges from credit scores to crypto, and from employer matches to the power of compounding.
It is an accessible and wide-ranging conversation for anyone interested in how financial education shapes lives.
Let's Keep Building Our Momentum
We welcome your stories, teaching experiences, research, and ideas for future newsletters. Please share your insights with us at stanfordifdm@stanford.edu, and help us expand our community by forwarding this email and the page to subscribe. Invite colleagues interested in teaching personal finance to join the network.
Together, we can continue to advance financial literacy and strengthen this community.