Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students

• APLUS Wave 2 Report, September, 2011
• APLUS National Press Release, February 10, 2010
• APLUS Wave 1.5 Report, January, 2010
• APLUS National Press Release, May 4, 2009
• APLUS Wave 1.0 Report, April, 2009
  

Project Title:
APlus: Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students

Researchers:
Soyeon Shim, Principal Investigator
Joyce Serido, Co-PI and Project manager

Project Summary:
The Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study is the first longitudinal study to examine the development of financial capability, literacy, attitudes and behaviors by following a cohort of college students as they progress through college and adult life.

Study Design:
Data collection for APLUS began in 2008 with information gathered from more than 2,000 freshmen at the University of Arizona. To date, researchers have collected three waves of data.

• Wave 1 data collection in 2008; 2,098 freshmen at the University of Arizona in Tucson
• Wave 1.5 data collection in 2009; 748 participants from the original sample (36%)
• Wave 2 data collection in 2010; 1,511 participants from the original sample (72%), including responses from 173 participants who left the UA.

Note: Between Waves 1 and 2, in the year 2009, researchers collected data in an initiative that was not part of the original study plan in order to learn about the impact of that concurrent economic crisis on students. Data from this initiative is referred to as Wave 1.5.

Funding:
The APLUS study is independent research funded by the Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research at the University of Arizona in partnership with organizations committed to fostering consumer financial capability.

Waves 1 and 1.5 of the APLUS study were funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education.

Wave 2 of the APLUS study was co-funded by Citi Foundation and the National Endowment for Financial Education.

More information on the APLUS study, including reports on findings from each wave of data collection (available as PDF's,) can be found at the study's website: http://aplus.arizona.edu/