Program Curriculum
The Financial Planning program comprises 7 courses, 21 credit hours:
FINC 308 Introduction to Financial Planning
FINC 425 Investments
ACCT 335 Income Tax Planning
BADM 309 Risk Management and Insurance
BADM 427 Retirement and Employee Benefits
BADM 429 Estate Planning
BADM 431 Financial Plan Development (Capstone)
8 Principal Knowledge Topic Categories:
- Professional Conduct and Regulation (7%)
B. General Financial Planning Principles (17%)
C. Education Planning (6%)
D. Risk Management and Insurance Planning (12%)
E. Investment Planning (17%)
F. Tax Planning (12%)
G. Retirement Savings and Income Planning (17%)
H. Estate Planning (12%) - Professional Conduct and Regulation
A.1. CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Rules of Conduct
A.2. CFP Board’s Financial Planning Practice Standards
A.3. CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures
A.4. Function, purpose, and regulation of financial institutions
A.5. Financial services regulations and requirements
A.6. Consumer protection laws
A.7. Fiduciary - General Principles of Financial Planning
B.8. Financial planning process
B.9. Financial statements
B.10. Cash flow management
B.11. Financing strategies
B.12. Economic concepts
B.13. Time value of money concepts and calculations
B.14. Client and planner attitudes, values, biases and behavioral finance
B.15. Principles of communication and counseling
B.16. Debt management - Education Planning
C.17. Education needs analysis
C.18. Education savings vehicles
C.19. Financial aid
C.20. Gift/income tax strategies
C.21. Education financing - Risk Management and Insurance Planning
D.22. Principles of risk and insurance
D.23. Analysis and evaluation of risk exposures
D.24. Health insurance and health care cost management (individual)
D.25. Disability income insurance (individual)
D.26. Long‐term care insurance (individual)
D.27. Annuities
D.28. Life insurance (individual)
D.29. Business uses of insurance
D.30. Insurance needs analysis
D.31. Insurance policy and company selection
D.32. Property and casualty insurance - Investment Planning
E.33. Characteristics, uses and taxation of investment vehicles
E.34. Types of investment risk
E.35. Quantitative investment concepts
E.36. Measures of investment returns
E.37. Asset allocation and portfolio diversification
E.38. Bond and stock valuation concepts
E.39. Portfolio development and analysis
E.40. Investment strategies
E.41. Alternative investments - Tax Planning
F.42. Fundamental tax law
F.43. Income tax fundamentals and calculations
F.44. Characteristics and income taxation of business entities
F.45. Income taxation of trusts and estates
F.46. Alternative minimum tax (AMT)
F.47. Tax reduction/management techniques
F.48. Tax consequences of property transactions
F.49. Passive activity and at-risk rules
F.50. Tax implications of special circumstances
F.51. Charitable/philanthropic contributions and deductions - Retirement Savings and Income Planning
G.52. Retirement needs analysis
G.53. Social Security and Medicare
G.54. Medicaid
G.55. Types of retirement plans
G.56. Qualified plan rules and options
G.57. Other tax-advantaged retirement plans
G.58. Regulatory considerations
G.59. Key factors affecting plan selection for businesses
G.60. Distribution rules and taxation
G.61. Retirement income and distribution strategies
G.62. Business succession planning - Estate Planning
H.63. Characteristics and consequences of property titling
H.64. Strategies to transfer property
H.65. Estate planning documents
H.66. Gift and estate tax compliance and tax calculation
H.67. Sources for estate liquidity
H.68. Types, features, and taxation of trusts
H.69. Marital deduction
H.70. Intra-family and other business transfer techniques
H.71. Postmortem estate planning techniques
H.72. Estate planning for non-traditional relationships
Learning Options
Learners enrolled in the program have the following three delivery options:
Traditional -in a brick and mortar classroom setting.
Hybrid -combines both traditional instruction delivery as well as online. Learners meet at specific time-intervals while the do most of the work online
Online -the program is delivered online
This program is uniquely supported by an advisory board of financial professionals through the Rural Financial Planning Project (RFPP). The mission of the RFPP is to improve the lives of rural Americans through the promotion of financial literacy and the delivery of financial planning by well-trained and ethical financial planning professionals.
The RFPP provides tuition assistance, mentorship, internships and career employment opportunities for students. Faculty members receive funding for professional development and research.