Certified Financial Planning Certification Education Program

Admission Criteria and Eligibility Information:

• A bachelor’s degree is required to enroll in this professional education program.
• The program is open to anyone seeking to become a CFP^®. Current Loras undergraduate students are advised to pursue the Financial Planning and Wealth Management minor so they can pursue the required coursework while earning their undergraduate degree.

Fundamentals of Financial Planning & Insurance

The program’s first course begins with a presentation of the basics that will form the foundation of knowledge students need as working financial services professionals. The financial planning process, as well as the legal, ethical, and regulatory issues affecting financial planners and time value of money concepts are covered. The course continues with a discussion of the principles of risk management and insurance, allowing the student to identify a client’s risk exposure and select appropriate risk management techniques.

Investment Planning

The investment course is designed to provide students with an introduction to modern portfolio theory, measuring risk and return, portfolio development and analysis, asset allocation and portfolio diversification, along with equity and bond valuation and derivatives.

Income Tax Planning

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to individual income tax fundamentals and the calculation of income tax. In addition, the tax issues surrounding business entities, disposition of property and tax basis are discussed. Students are introduced to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), passive activity rules, charitable contributions and tax minimization strategies.

Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits

This course will provide students with a fundamental introduction to retirement planning and employee benefits, including public and private retirement plans as well as group and fringe benefits. Specifically, the course will cover the public retirement plans including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as well as the private plans including both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In addition, the course will provide students with an understanding of the regulatory provisions associated with the installation, administration and termination of retirement plans and with the specific characteristics of the various plans available including qualified, non-qualified and other tax advantaged plans. Finally, the course will detail employee group and fringe benefits and the taxation of these benefit plans, and also the issues that individuals face in retirement.

Estate Planning

The estate planning course begins with the estate planning process and the basic documents needed for an estate plan such as a will, durable power of attorney for healthcare and an advanced medical directive. The course continues with a discussion regarding property ownership, assets that pass through and around the probate process, gift and estate taxes and planning techniques to reduce an individual’s tax liability.

Capstone Course

This project-based course will require students to synthesize and apply elements of comprehensive financial planning, to perform all functions of the financial planning process and to apply the CFP Board’s practice standards.

What are the requirements to enroll in this CFP® Certification Education program?
Students who want to enroll in any CFP® exam education course offered by Dalton Education must have earned or be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program from a regionally accredited college or university.

What type of technology will I need to take the classes?
It is recommended that students have an operating system Windows 7 or higher or Mac OS 10.6 or higher. Students must be able to run, install, and configure programs and be able to store and retrieve documents and files on their computer. The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is also recommended for viewing the live classes. If you are unsure if you have appropriate permissions to save files to your computer, please contact your system administrator.

How is testing administered in the courses?
Generally, two exams are given for each course. Students will take an online midterm and final exam for each course. The midterm is 40% of the final grade and the final exam is 60%. Students must achieve a 70% for each course in order to receive a passing grade.

How do I pay for the CFP certification education courses? Can my employer pay for it?
Please see the “Program Cost” section of this webpage for more information.

Can I take the classes on my own time in a self-paced format?
Yes. Students who do not wish to do the Virtual Classroom (synchronous) format may instead take all 6 courses, or just a few courses, in a self-paced (asynchronous) format. Self-paced students have access to whiteboard recordings for the more difficult topics (approximately 30 total hours through the entire program); but the live and recorded lectures that Virtual Classroom students have access to are not available to the self-paced students.

Course fees and textbook costs for the self-paced format are listed in the “Program Cost” section of this webpage.

What if I fail an exam or drop out?
If students fail an exam, they will have an opportunity to take a makeup exam. The makeup exams are different versions testing the same content. Students failing a course with a course grade of 60-69 after exhausting all exam attempts can opt to do extra credit, which is available through an education advisor. Students failing a course with a grade of 59 or below will be required to repeat the course during a four-week sit out period.

If a student chooses to not continue in the program after initial enrollment, a full refund will be issued up to 5 days after the first day of the start of the program. Students who drop out on day 6 of the program or anytime thereafter will receive no refund and will be financially responsible for the full cost of the program.

What are the requirements to sit for the CFP® exam?
Students must complete a college-level program of study in personal financial planning, or an accepted equivalent (which Loras’s CFP Certification Education program is), including completion of a financial plan development (capstone) course registered with CFP Board (which Loras’s CFP Certification Education program includes).

Candidates must also have completed 6,000 hours of experience through the Standard Pathway or 4,000 hours of experience through the Apprenticeship pathway to prove their ability to provide financial planning without supervision. Please visit the CFP Board’s website for a detailed description of the requirements to sit for the CFP® exam.

The CFB Board sets and enforces the standard of excellence in financial planning through the Certified Financial Planner™ certification. Visit the CFP Board website for certificate requirements and exam dates.

Cost

Virtual Classroom:

• The cost of the entire CFP Certification Education program (all 6 courses in the Virtual Classroom  format) is $6,575. This includes textbooks, which will be mailed to the student.
• The cost of each individual CFP Certification Education course for students taking just a few courses in the Virtual Classroom format is $1,000 per course (except for the Capstone course which is $850). Textbooks are not included and must be ordered and purchased by the student separately (except for the Capstone course- that textbook is already included in the $850 course fee and will be mailed to the student).

Self-Paced:

• The cost of each individual CFP Certification Education course for students doing all or just a few courses in the Self-Paced format is $600 per course (except for the Capstone course which is $850). Textbooks are not included and must be ordered and purchased by the student separately (except for the Capstone course- that textbook is already included in the $850 course fee and will be mailed to the student).

Payment
Students have two options for program payment, regardless of if they are doing the Virtual Classroom format or the self-paced format:

1. Utilize tuition reimbursement from their employer via completion of Loras’s Employer Tuition Reimbursement Form, OR:
2. Self-pay their entire program balance before the first day of class.

Students who utilize tuition reimbursement from their employer must complete Loras’s ETR Form before the first day of class. Students will still be issued regular billing statements from Loras, but will be exempt from any late fees and will be exempt from having to make full payment until after their last class. (Students or employers are welcome to make payments directly to Loras along the way if they would like, but it is not required). The balance must be paid in full within 30 days of program completion and prior to Loras issuing the student the certificate of completion of the courses at the end of the program.

Students who do not complete Loras’s ETR Form must self-pay their entire program balance before the first day of class. Students who fail to make payment for the program by that date will be asked to remit payment or be removed from the program.

Withdrawals/Refunds
If a student chooses to not continue in the program after initial enrollment, a full refund will be issued up to 5 days after the first day of the start of the program. Students who drop out on day 6 of the program or anytime thereafter will receive no refund and will be financially responsible for the full cost of the program.

Financial Aid
Please note that federal and institutional aid is not available for this program. Students who wish to obtain a private loan to help cover the cost of this program may reach out to Lesley Buse, Assistant Director of Financial Planning at 563-588-7817 or lesley.buse@loras.edu.

Contact us if you have additional billing or employer reimbursement questions
Carrie Jones, Director of Student Accounts
carrie.jones@loras.edu
563-588-7232