The American College Announces Enhancement To Its Core Financial Planning Course Curriculum

January 21, 2005 -- The American College, the nation's leading educator of financial service industry professionals, announced today that it will divide the content of its largest volume course, HS 318 Insurance and Financial Planning into two new courses, HS 300 Financial Planning Process and Environment and HS 311 Fundamentals of Insurance. This new course structure will enhance The College's ability to effectively deliver education to students working toward their CFP Certification or CLU and ChFC designations.

"The Insurance and Financial Planning course demanded considerable focus from our students and covered a substantial amount of material," said Larry Barton, PhD., President and Chief Executive Officer of The American College. "Dividing the material covered by this course into two separate courses will provide students with the opportunity to study specific subjects more efficiently and increase their understanding of the material. We know that a more knowledgeable financial planner is a more effective and successful financial planner."

In 2003, The American College conducted a survey of 10,000 of its students and found that those earning a CLU or ChFC designation earned, on average, 34 percent more than their peers without a designation. Those with both the CLU and ChFC earned approximately 40 percent more.

The Insurance and Financial Planning course is one of the required core courses necessary to complete the CLU, ChFC or CFP Certification Curriculum at The American College. As a result, this change will affect the educational requirements for each of these programs. Individuals interested in earning these designations under the current course requirements must register for HS 318 Insurance and Financial Planning by February 28, 2005 and take their examination by June 30, 2005.

The impact of this change on each of the three programs will be different. Individuals working toward their CFP Certification will now be required to take six courses instead of five. The ChFC designation program, however, will continue to require eight courses. The number of required core courses will increase to six - the same six courses required to complete the CFP Certification Curriculum. Once the core course requirements have been met, students working toward their ChFC will need to complete two additional electives to earn the designation.

HS 311 Fundamentals of Insurance will replace HS 318 Insurance and Financial Planning in the CLU curriculum as one of the required core courses. The designation will continue to require students to complete five required core courses and three electives to earn this credential.

"As a non-profit accredited institution, our responsibility is to make sure our students receive the best education possible," continued Barton. "As part of our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and after a thorough academic review, our faculty has concluded that redesigning HS 318 Insurance and Financial Planning will enhance the student educational experience. Dividing this material into two courses will help facilitate learning, knowledge comprehension and retention."

The American College is the nation's leading non-profit educator of professionals in the insurance and financial services industry. Located on a 35-acre campus in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, The College is a public charity that serves over 35,000 students annually, predominantly on a distance education basis. The American College offers an array of specialized designation programs, a Master of Science degree in financial services and customized continuing education programs for those pursuing a career in financial services. For more information, visit www.TheAmericanCollege.edu.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the marks CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, and CFP (with flame logo), which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Contact: Eric B. Gordon
Director of Public Relations
The American College
(610) 526-1450

The American College Announces Enhancement To Its Core Financial Planning Course Curriculum

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The American College Announces Enhancement To Its Core Financial Planning Course Curriculum

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