Colleges & Universities
Financial Plan Development Course

On March 4, 2010, CFP Board's Board of Directors approved the addition of a financial plan development course requirement to CFP Board's education standards, following thoughtful review of comments on the proposed requirement received during a 60-day comment period held in 2009. The course requirement has been designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals seeking to attain CFP® certification and implement an assessment of their ability to deliver professional and competent financial planning services to the public.

All CFP Board-Registered Programs will be required to submit a Financial Plan Development Course to CFP Board for registration no later than December 1, 2011. All students of CFP Board-Registered Programs whose initial dates of matriculation occur on or after January 1, 2012 will be required to take this course. Completion of the course will be required for those who register under “Challenge” status for the March 2012 or later administrations of the CFP® Certification Examination. The information and resources on this page provide additional detail regarding the purpose, criteria and registration procedures for the Financial Plan Development Course.

Table Of Contents

  Downloadable
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Course Criteria for the Financial Plan Development Course

Course Registration Process

  • Application form - Submit completed application with syllabi, course instructor curriculum vita and student assessment rubric to CFP Board by December 1, 2011

Resources and Forms



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Presentation



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Word

Criteria for the Financial Plan Development Course

The purpose of the Financial Plan Development Course is to require the financial planning student to demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply his or her knowledge of financial planning topics, as received through the curricula taught by CFP Board-Registered Programs.  The Board’s adoption of this new course requirement is recognition of the increasing importance for the educational requirements for CFP® certification to prepare students not only with technical financial planning knowledge, but also the skills to integrate, apply and communicate this knowledge to their clients. Through this new course requirement, future CFP® professionals will have proven their ability to apply the financial planning process to real-life situations, as well as their ability to communicate their planning recommendations to a client.   The requirement will not only become part of the standards for CFP Board-Registered Programs, but will be considered part of the educational requirement for CFP® certification.

The Financial Plan Development Course is competency-based, which means that instruction and experiences consist of a body of related skills and knowledge that affect a significant portion of one’s performance in a given profession. Through the use of competency-based learning objectives, learner achievement can be quantified against universally accepted performance standards. This form of learner assessment provides a detailed summary of learner effectiveness relative to the role of the personal financial planner, while also informing subsequent education and experiences relative to this course.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the content found within the Financial Planning curriculum and effectively apply and integrate this information in the formulation of a financial plan.
  2. Effectively communicate the financial plan, both orally and in writing, including information based on research, peer, colleague or simulated client interaction and/or results emanating from synthesis of material.
  3. Collect all necessary and relevant qualitative and quantitative information required to develop a financial plan.
  4. Analyze personal financial situations, evaluating clients’ objectives, needs, and values to develop an appropriate strategy within the financial plan.
  5. Demonstrate logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to a specific problem.
  6. Evaluate the impact of economic, political, and regulatory issues with regard to the financial plan.
  7. Apply the CFP Board Financial Planning Practice Standards to the financial planning process.

Learning Experiences

In developing curriculum and instruction relative to the Financial Plan Development Course, Registered Programs have the flexibility to utilize a variety of educational experiences in order to meet the specified learning objectives required by CFP Board. These experiences within this capstone course may include, but are not limited to, case studies, practicum experiences, presentation formats, software, and internships. The rationale for devising criteria focused exclusively upon learning objectives is to give Registered Programs the opportunity to use their own creativity in devising learning experiences that they believe are best suited for their students, while still meeting the CFP Board required learner achievement benchmarks relative to the financial plan development course.

Assessment

CFP Board will require that Registered Programs utilize rubrics as a primary avenue of learner assessment in the Financial Plan Development Course. However, CFP Board encourages faculty in Registered Programs to develop their own assessment rubrics that represent what they believe to be the primary components of a particular course or unit of study. These rubrics should accurately assess all aspects of the content and experiences associated with the Financial Plan Development Course Learning Objectives. CFP Board will require submission of all Financial Plan Development Course syllabi and assessment rubrics during the annual Registered Program registration renewal. The purpose of this ongoing evaluation is to ensure that all of the students enrolled in the various Registered Programs across the United States demonstrate the same minimum competency level relative to the Financial Plan Development Course learning objectives.

Grandfather Clause

The “Grandfather” Clause provides protection from changes in requirements for students who maintain continuous enrollment in a program of study, curriculum, or major. The Financial Plan Development Course is required for all students enrolled in a certificate, baccalaureate, or graduate program effective January 1, 2012. Therefore, students whose initial date of matriculation occurs on or after January 1, 2012 will be required to take this course. Conversely, a student whose initial date of matriculation is before January 1, 2012, but is still enrolled in the Registered Program, will not be required to take the Financial Plan Development Course. Registered programs will decide the appropriate program of study for students who have a significant break in enrollment during any point in this period. It is important to note that given the upcoming changes to the CFP® exam, Registered Programs should encourage all students to consider enrollment in the Financial Plan Development Course once it is adopted by the institution.

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CFP Board as a Resource

Registered Programs are encouraged to contact CFP Board with any questions about the new Financial Plan Development Course requirements.  CFP Board can share tips and provide references to materials related to all stages of the development and implementation of the course. Should you have any questions, please contact: Dr. Charles Chaffin, Registered Program Manager, at cchaffin@CFPBoard.org, or 202-379-2218.

Creating an Asessment Rubric

CFP Board is requiring the use of a rubric to assess student achievement in the Financial Plan Development Course. It is the decision of each Registered Program to decide the type of rubric they want to utilize in this course, as well as how each category should be weighted. Below are some steps that outline how to go about developing an assessment rubric.

Steps toward Creating an Effective Assessment Rubric for the Financial Plan Development Course

Step 1: Determine the learning objectives that you are evaluating in this assessment and place them into categories.
Step 2: Prioritize the most and least important learning objectives relative to a particular assessment.
Step 3: Decide an overall point value for this assignment.
Step 4: Assign a weight to each category. CFP Board recommends a weighted rubric, since some categories may be more important than others and should be reflected as such in the assessment.
Step 5: Do the math to assign a point value for each item.
Step 6: Assign grading criteria for each category and qualitative information for the criteria.

Tips

  1. Determine what value a minimum competency might be for each category. For example, if you are grading out of five for each category, a 3 out of 5 might be minimum competency or passing.
  2. Is the amount of time you have spent in this unit of study represented in this rubric?
    For example, if you have spent a large amount of time in-class on Learning Objective Two (Communication), it may need to represent more than 10% of the overall assessment.
  3. Share the rubric with your students BEFORE the assessment so they may see not only how they will be assessed, but also the items that you believe are most important relative to the development and implementation of the financial plan. You may want to provide a copy of the assessment rubric for the final portion of the financial plan in the syllabus so the student can see the value placed on each component of the course.
  4. Be careful not to place too many items on the rubrics to assess at once, as it might be unwieldy.
  5. Record the assessment to ensure that you do not miss any component of the
    student’s presentation.

Scoring

  • Use even numbers of possible variables, as opposed to odd (middle numbers tend to become the “catch-all” with scoring). The example below uses an even number of four possible variables.

4

3

2

1

Exemplary

Excellent

Acceptable

Unacceptable

Assessment

  • Always start high to low, so the student can evaluate the exemplar language or possible number first

Rubric Example:

Below is an example of a weighted rubric. Only one learning objective has been completed.


Learning Objective


4-Exemplary

 
3-Excellent

 
2-Acceptable


1-Poor

 Presentation (25%)

Well presented and articulated.

(4 x .25=2 possible points)

Clear communication. The financial plan was articulated effectively in most cases.

(3 x .25= 1.50 possible points)

A moderately effective presentation. Some information was not clear and the student appeared unprofessional at times.

(2 x .25= 1 possible point)

Not presented in a clear or professional manner. Student appeared disinterested in engaging the client/audience

(1 x .25= .25 possible points)

Learning Objective 2 (30%)

 

 

 

 

Learning Objective 3 (25%)

 

 

 

 

Learning Objective 4 (20%)

 

 

 

 

Comments
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________


  • The comment section provides the learner the opportunity to receive short, written feedback from the instructor. This section might be an appropriate place to write specific steps the learner can take to improve his or her achievement or to share general comments related to the learner’s progress in the course.
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Course Registration Process

CFP Board will require submission of all Financial Plan Development Course syllabi and assessment rubrics during the annual Registered Program registration renewal. The purpose of this ongoing evaluation is to ensure that all of the students enrolled in the various Registered Programs across the United States demonstrate the same minimum competency level relative to the Financial Plan Development Course learning objectives.

  1. Course Syllabus
    Evaluation of the course syllabus will depend solely upon the content, instruction, learning experiences, and assessment strategies relative to the learning objectives established as the criteria for the Financial Plan Development Course. If a capstone course has already been part of the curriculum, CFP Board Registered Program Manager can evaluate the course and assess the gaps, if any, that exist with regard to the current syllabus and the Financial Plan Development Course required criteria.
  2. Curriculum Vitae of the Instructor of the Financial Plan Development Course
    Evaluation of the qualifications of the instructor of this new course will be identical to those found in Section III, (pp. 8-17), CFP Board’s Criteria for Registration of a Financial Planning Curriculum (April, 2008).
  3. Assessment Rubric utilized by instructor for the Financial Plan Development Course
    CFP Board requires the use of an assessment rubric in the Financial Plan Development Course. CFP Board Registered Programs have the freedom to decide the content and weight of components of their assessment rubric relative to learner assessment in components of the financial plan.

Additional Provisions

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Background

In 2009, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”) released a proposal for the addition of a Financial Plan Development Course requirement to CFP Board’s education standards. The proposed course would enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals seeking to attain CFP® certification and implement an assessment of their ability to deliver professional and competent financial planning services to the public. Following a 60-day comment period, CFP Board thoughtfully reviewed the more than 225 comments received.

On March 4, 2010, CFP Board's Board of Directors approved the addition of a financial plan development course requirement to CFP Board's education standards.

The following message regarding the approval of the new course requirement was sent to directors of CFP Board-Registered Programs:

Friday, March 5, 2010

 Dear Program Director,

Yesterday, CFP Board's Board of Directors approved a change to the current standards for the curricula of CFP Board-Registered Programs by adopting a financial plan development course requirement. We are in the process of outlining detailed specific information regarding the scope of the new requirement and timetable associated with this new requirement, and we will make that information available to you within the next several weeks. We wanted you to be among the first to hear that the new course requirement had been adopted.
As you are aware, the proposal for this new requirement was announced last year and released for comment in August 2009. We have had substantial and ongoing discussion with representatives of all our stakeholder groups during and after the 60-day comment period. The open sessions at the 2009 Program Directors' Conference were especially helpful in eliciting constructive feedback from the Program Director community. Our Council on Education and Board of Directors appreciated the volume of thoughtful comments we received on the proposal. The implications of this requirement for all types of programs and delivery formats were important factors in the Board's deliberations.
The purpose of this new course requirement is to require the financial planning student to demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply his or her knowledge of financial planning topics, as received through the curricula taught by CFP Board-Registered Programs. The Board's adoption of this new course requirement is recognition of the increasing importance for the educational requirements for CFP® certification to prepare students not only with technical financial planning knowledge, but also the skills to integrate, apply and communicate this knowledge to their clients. Through this new course requirement, future CFP® professionals will have proven their ability to apply the financial planning process to real-life situations, as well as their ability to communicate their planning recommendations to a client. The requirement will not only become part of the standards for CFP Board-Registered Programs, but will be considered part of the educational requirement for CFP® certification.
Over the course of the next several weeks, we will provide you with additional details about the new course requirement. At this time, I can share with you that one component of the new requirement will be that the course be the equivalent of either 45 contact hours or 3 semester hours. CFP Board believes the new requirement will benefit the public by more comprehensively preparing students for the practice of personal financial planning. We also expect the new course to be welcomed by your students. We look forward to working with you and your colleagues at other institutions throughout the United States to implement this new requirement. I appreciate your dedication to providing high quality educational opportunities for future financial planners, and your ongoing support of the CFP® certification.
Best Regards,
Kevin R. Keller, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
1425 K Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
P: 800-487-1497
E: education@CFPBoard.org
W: www.CFP.net
________________________________________________
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
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