Financial specialists with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Serviceare teaching the state's college students how to make sound financial management decisions that can help them become financially secure adults through the Love Your Money project.

In the project, which is taught in the classroom and available online, students learn how to manage their money and invest for the future.

UK is one of five state universities participating in the project funded by a grant from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Others include the University of Tennessee, University of Mississippi, University of Kansas and the University of Florida.

Jennifer Hunter, UK assistant extension professor for family finance, has taught the classes to various groups of UK students and students at Berea College. The classes cover topics ranging from budgeting to student loans to realistic salary expectations for new college graduates.

"College students are an audience who are not often tapped with extension programming; however, with many college students citing financial failure as a reason for dropping out of school, there is a definite need. For many of the students we work with, this is the first time they have to be financially responsible for themselves," said Hunter, who works in the UK School of Human Environmental Sciences. "In our classes, we find that the majority of students do not have a good concept of how a checking account works or the consequences of accumulating large amounts of credit card debt."

Students also have the opportunity to view topics covered in the class online through http://loveyourmoney.org/, a website designed by specialists from the five participating universities. The website will also be launched on eXtension in the near future.

While the website and classes are geared toward college students, Hunter said the program would be useful to high school seniors as they prepare to transition to college.