CFP Board-Registered Programs Address Opportunities to Encourage Students’ Integration and Applications of Financial Planning Knowledge

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 19, 2010 – Nearly 200 people from around the country came to The Fairfax on Embassy Row in Washington, DC on August 12-13 to get a firsthand look at how CFP Board is working with the education community to strengthen its programs for the benefit of students, educators and the public.

As was reported in Investment News, the 2010 Program Directors’ Conference was a tremendous success, showcasing research conducted by graduate students, lively breakout sessions and an entertaining keynote speech by Deanna Sharpe, Ph.D., CFP®, who spoke about experiential learning and how it can apply to educators work with financial planning students.

Leadership from CFP Board – including Board Chair Bob Glovsky, Chair-elect Chuck Moran and CEO Kevin R. Keller – spoke to attendees about the need for those teaching aspiring CFP® professionals to go beyond teaching for the exam and instead teach for a lifetime of learning. The financial planning profession, they said, is rapidly evolving. And as such, CFP Board’s education requirements need to reflect the changing nature of financial planning and ways in which CFP® professionals help their clients.

The conference featured opportunities for educators, as well, to share ideas and resources, all in an effort to prepare future personal financial planners.

“As one of the fastest growing occupations in the country, financial planners need a robust education to ensure they can practice their profession and serve their clients,” said Bob Glovsky, 2010 Chairman of CFP Board’s Board of Directors and Director Emeritus of Boston University’s Program for Financial Planners.

The primary objective of this conference was to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and resources, specifically with regard to instructional opportunities that allow the learner to integrate and apply course content. Given the introduction of the Financial Plan Development Course requirement – a capstone course that all CFP Board-registered education programs will be required to offer by 2012 – this is an instructional opportunity for the student to synthesize content from across the financial planning curriculum.

The conference provided specific avenues for programs to meet CFP Board criteria in designing effective capstone experiences that prepare future financial planners for their profession. Poster sessions for doctoral students gave them the opportunity to showcase their research, proving the unique opportunity for practitioners, educators, and researchers to participate in a dialogue about topics in the profession.

To become a CFP® professional, people need to meet a series of qualifications. Known as the “4 E’s” – education, exam, experience and ethics – education is the foundation for CFP® certification. Candidates for CFP® certification need to have a bachelor’s degree, sit for the CFP® exam and, once a CFP® professional, demonstrate ongoing competency by completing continuing education. Education programs are taught as stand-alone programs or part of receiving a baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral degree. CFP Board partners with 335 programs at 212 institutions.

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