Dr. Rita W. Green to present at Family Economics Resource Management Association Conference

For release:  May 15, 2018

Dr. Rita W. Green, instructor of Accountancy, has been invited to present two workshops at the upcoming Family Economics Resource Management Association (FERMA) conference this month in Clearwater, FL.

One of her presentations is entitled "P – H – D – Piled High and Deep in loans: Helping students navigate the big payback" and will introduce family economists and researchers to resources in the Financial Aid Toolkit. The Financial Aid Toolkit was developed by Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. The toolkit can be used to educate students and parents and act as a potential deterrent to student loan default, which rose to its highest level in 20 years between 2000 and 2014. Within the same period, the total volume of outstanding federal student debt nearly quadrupled and the number of student loan borrowers more than doubled to reach 42 million.

Dr. Green's second presentation, "Implications of Dodd-Frank for Housing Professionals," explores the potential effects of the recent enforcement of legislation that requires individual certification of housing counselors at HUD counseling agencies. Counseling programs are geared primarily toward first-time homebuyers, minority families and other populations whose homeownership rates fall below the national average. Homeownership affects the household balance sheet and in turn, has a strong effect on the local and national economy.