Financial Planning Education 101: 10 Standout Schools
The College For Financial Planning
CFP Board-registered programs: 2 - online certificate program and online graduate program for Master of Science degree in Personal Financial Planning
Enrollment: 5,071 in CFP certificate program; 469 in M.S. planning program
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 969
Pass rate of those students: 75%
Faculty: 43 (11 full-time and 32 adjunct)
Tuition: CFP certification program $3,885, including materials and fees
M.S. program: $7,140
Web address: cffpinfo.com
University of Georgia
CFP Board-registered programs: 5 - College of Family and Consumer Sciences has an undergraduate degree program, master's and doctoral program; Terry College of Business has 2 certificate programs, online and classroom (off campus)
Enrollment: 100 undergraduate, 12 master's, 6 doctoral, several hundred in Terry College online program and 50 in the classroom program
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 10 in degree programs, 51 in certificate
Pass rate of those students: 2 graduate students, pass rate 100%; 8 undergraduate students, pass rate 50%; 75% for certificate
Faculty: 5 in financial planning (3 full-time professors, 2 adjunct faculty), 8 supporting full-time professors (3 professors of housing and 5 in consumer economics); 12 instructors for Terry College certificate programs
Tuition: Graduate tuition per semester for in state: $3,600; out of state: $10,950. Undergraduate in state: $3,641; $12,746 nonresident. Most doctoral students and master's students receive graduate assistantships with tuition waiver and stipend. Classroom certificate program is $4,950, or $995 for a single class; online program is $1,995, or $600 for a single class
Web address: financialplanning.uga.edu
Boston University
CFP Board-registered programs: 2 - online and classroom certificate programs
Enrollment: online: 4,457 through September 2011; 5,942 projected for full year. Classroom: 319
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: N/A
Pass rate of those students: N/A
Faculty: 20
Tuition: Virtual classroom package, $3,995; online access program $2,295 to $2,895; classroom program $6,365
Web address: http://professional.bu.edu/programs/financial-planning/
Kansas State
CFP Board-registered programs: 4 (undergraduate, master's, Ph.D. and graduate certificate)
Enrollment: 200 (45 undergraduate, 35 certificate, 90 master's, 30 Ph.D.)
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 20
Pass rate of those students: undergraduate/master's 67%; certificate 75%; Ph.D. 100%
Faculty: 8
Tuition: $1,395 to $8,370 annually, depending on the degree program
Web address: ipfp.ksu.edu
Kaplan
CFP Board-registered programs: 2 - self-paced and accelerated/virtual certificate programs
Enrollment: N/A
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: N/A
Pass rate of those students: "Kaplan students in the accelerated certificate program have performed better than the national pass rate" since November 2006, based on a July 2011 CFP Board report.
Faculty: 22
Tuition: $4,999 for all six units plus live review of accelerated and virtual programs; $3,999 for self-paced program
Web address: schweser.com/cfp
San Diego State University
CFP Board-registered programs: 3 - B.S. in Financial Services with certificate in personal financial planning; M.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in financial and tax planning; executive financial planner advanced certificate (graduate credit certificate).
Enrollment: 110 in all programs
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 32
Pass rate of those students: 45% to 75%
Faculty: B.S.: 25; M.S.: 18; executive certificate: 5
Tuition: B.S.: $3,289 per semester in state, $8,869 out of state; M.S.: $6,970 per semester in state, $11,434 out of state; executive financial planner advanced certificate: $7,416 total cost, including books
Web address: sdsu.edu/finplan
William Paterson University
CFP Board-registered programs: 2 - undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/financial planning and certificate program
Enrollment: 30 (undergraduate)
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 3 (undergraduate)
Pass rate of those students: 33% (undergraduate)
Faculty: 4 (2 full-time, 2 adjunct)
Tuition: $5,732 a semester in state; $9,314 out of state; certificate program is $4,600, including textbooks
Web address: https://secure.wpunj.edu/gfsi/cfp.html
Certificate program: http://cms.wpunj.edu/cpe/index.dot
Texas Tech University
CFP Board-registered programs: 11, from undergraduate to Ph.D., including minors and dual graduate degrees in financial planning and business or law
Enrollment: 280 full-time majors (125 undergraduates, 120 master's and 35 Ph.D.s)
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 34
Pass rate of those students: 38% to 56%
Faculty: 11 full-time and 2 graduate adjuncts
Tuition: Undergraduate, per semester, in state: $3,690; out of state: $7,446; graduate, per semester, in state: $4,290; out of state: $8,046
Web address: pfp.ttu.edu
Utah Valley University
CFP Board-registered programs: 1 (undergraduate major in personal financial planning)
Enrollment: 35
Faculty: 2 full-time financial planning, plus faculty from other departments
Tuition: $2,300 a semester in state; $6,740 out of state
Web address: uvu.edu/woodbury/
Virginia Tech
CFP Board-registered programs: 2, undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree program in either finance or applied economic management
Enrollment: 130
Students who sat for CFP exams so far in 2011: 17
Pass rate of those students: 65%
Faculty: 2 full-time, 5 additional who teach required CFP courses
Tuition: $10,500 per year in state, $24,500 per year out of state
Web address: fnpn.agecon.vt.edu