Outstanding Program Award—Non-Credit

University of Oklahoma Outreach, College of Continuing Education

Invest Ed

In early 2004, the University of Oklahoma conducted a statewide poll of Oklahomans 25 years old and older to learn how they save and invest their money, to gauge their knowledge of investing, and to determine whether investors knew what to do if they suspected fraud. The poll showed a severe deficit in all areas of investor education, and a dire lack of knowledge in the area of investment fraud prevention.

In response, University of Oklahoma Outreach, College of Continuing Education collaborated with the Oklahoma Department of Securities to launch Invest Ed. The multi-component, investor education program provides unbiased, free investment and anti-fraud information to Oklahomans of all ages and, through its distribution program, people across the country.

The program consists of several individual projects and components that have been developed over four contract periods. One staple is the Invest Ed Teacher Institutes, which train Oklahoma middle and high school teachers to present investment curricula developed in accordance with Oklahoma Priority Academic Student Skills standards. Another is the Students Tracking and Researching the Stock Market (STARS) project, an online project for Oklahoma high school students designed to teach investing as a long-range tool, instead of a get-rich-quick scheme. Teachers who have attended an Institute are eligible to implement the STARS program in their classrooms.

The Invest Ed program has held town hall meetings in 10 Oklahoma cities to increase fraud awareness, and launched an anti-fraud education media blitz-which included newspaper, magazine and movie theater ads-to introduce its Web site (www.investedok.org) as Oklahoma's securities fraud prevention resource. "The Investment Minute" Radio Series features 60-second spots on investment education basics and anti-fraud information.

“The Invest Ed program demonstrates several new and innovative methods of delivery,” says Randall Doerneman, Director of the Center for Independent and Distance Learning at OU and Invest Ed Program Director. “Invest Ed attempts to reach Oklahomans through every medium available—print, Internet, radio, television, billboards, movie theaters, summer camps, workshops, and schools.”

The message is being received. Investment Radio and TV Minutes have reached nearly 3.5 million listeners and viewers. The Teacher Institutes and STARS projects have jointly reached more than 400 Oklahoma teachers and 5,000 students, and teacher feedback and student evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive. And projects continue to grow and evolve to meet needs and reach more Oklahomans; already, two Teacher Institute refresher workshops have been scheduled for this summer to accommodate a waiting list from 2007.