Household International–UMUC Partnership Will Help Military Families Better Manage Finances and Help Pay for College Degrees

By Andrea Martino

Household International and UMUC are entering into a $2 million partnership to develop an online financial education resource center designed to meet the special needs of military personnel and their families. Funding for the partnership represents the largest donation in the University’s history.

With more than 200,000 American troops now deployed to the Middle East, the partnership involves two other U.S. forces—the world’s leading provider of higher education to the U.S. military and the nation’s oldest consumer finance company—joining to create the Household Military Financial Education Resource Center.

Household’s $2 million sponsorship, including $500,000 to establish the Household Military Family Scholarship Fund, was announced March 12, 2003, during a reception at UMUC celebrating the University being awarded Department of Defense (DoD) contracts to continue delivering courses and programs to U.S. troops and their dependents in 28 foreign countries. Last year alone, UMUC served more than 53,000 active-duty military personnel and their dependents worldwide.

“Our relationship with the military has been crucial to our development,” said UMUC President Gerald Heeger.

“Since 1947 this relationship has strengthened our adult focus and helped UMUC become the world leader in adult education and an institution organizationally and culturally adaptive to new technology in providing educational programs to working adults,” said Heeger. “Now, thanks to this partnership with Household, UMUC will also be known for offering convenient, high-tech support that adults can use to better manage their financial responsibilities and improve their lives.”

Heeger said that while the majority of U.S. service members overseas still take courses at U.S. military bases throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, an increasing number take UMUC courses online and rely on the University’s online student services, such as information and library services with more than 90 databases.

According to Household Chairman and CEO William F. Aldinger, for more than a century Household has been helping people in all walks of life improve their finances and make their dreams come true.

“We consider it a privilege to help create this exciting new initiative on behalf of our nation’s men and women in uniform,” said Aldinger. “For many service members and their families with limited finances, the college scholarship assistance included in this partnership will help make the dream of a college education possible.”

Sandra Harriman, UMUC vice president of Institutional Advancement, said the Household Military Financial Education Resource Center will complement and expand on DoD “New Social Compact” initiatives developed in response to President George W. Bush’s directive, “Improving Military Quality of Life.” One important DoD initiative is to improve knowledge of financial matters.

“As we all know, when so many other urgent matters take priority, it is all too easy to lose sight of planning for the future,” said Harriman. “It seems appropriate that now, when so many U.S. service members in the Middle East are in harm’s way, such an important gift to UMUC would benefit them and their families.”

The free site, at www.umuc.edu as early as May 2003, will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to anyone with Internet access. It will offer concrete, real-world lessons in financial management, as well as a variety of financial management tools and examples that can be used to apply lessons learned. Modules will cover basic budgeting skills, credit and loans, employment benefits, major home and automobile purchases, insurance, and investment skills. Financial structures, such as savings and investment alternatives, financial and credit sources, and money markets, stocks, and annuities will be included, as will online exercises in cash flow statements, balance sheets, and personal budgets and estate planning.

According to Heeger, the online Household Military Financial Education Resource Center also presents opportunities down the road to tailor modules for other UMUC student constituencies, such as firefighters and other first responders.

Household is a leading provider of consumer loans, credit cards, auto financing, and credit insurance, with more than 50 million customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. In the United States, Household’s largest business, founded in 1878, operates under the two oldest and most widely recognized names in consumer lending—HFC and Beneficial.

To learn more about Household International, visit its Web site at www.household.com.