In her recent column, Beatriz Lindemann ’29 argues that Brown should offer a course on personal finance. Lindemann protests that the Department of Economics, ranked No. 11 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, should teach students about “budgeting, filing taxes and making wise personal investments.” It is a fact that Gen Z in particular lacks financial literacy. However, I disagree with Lindemann about who should be responsible for teaching our generation how to manage their finances.
The purpose of Brown’s liberal arts education has been thoroughly debated on The Herald’s opinion pages. First-year students arrive on College Hill with a passion to learn and use their undergraduate degree to pursue their dreams — not figure out taxes and credit cards. Personal finance is what I would consider a life skill, similar to things like time management and cooking. These skills are undeniably important, but they won’t help you become a Nobel laureate, get elected to office or write the next great American novel.
If the University started teaching life skills, it would be setting itself down a slippery slope. Should the University also offer a course on how to organize your room? Perhaps even personal hygiene? There is a clear distinction between skills which are related to our academic education and post-graduate opportunities and those that do not require instruction from an esteemed professional. In a recent column, I stressed the importance of the Center for Career Exploration’s expansion into interview preparation, which some might argue is a life skill — but this is done through a separate department, not a course, led by career advising professionals, not professors.
While Lindemann proposed that such a class could be a University Course, she also protests the fact that classes in the economics department “fall short of providing students with an understanding of their personal finances.” At first, it might seem logical that the economics department would teach personal finance, but in reality, personal finance is tangential to firms, markets and policy — what the economics department actually studies. The University’s undergraduate admissions website paints a sophisticated picture of its graduates, one not so concerned with personal skills: “A Brown education will prepare you to flourish as an independent thinker, an innovative collaborator and an active global citizen.” The type of intellectual pursuit that is fostered at Brown surpasses the menial subject of personal finance.
I agree with the importance for women to understand personal finances given the country’s history of wage disparities between men and women. However, Brown offering a course is not the best solution. Students who are already strained with requirements are unlikely to take it, and the information is already available per online courses.
Coursera offers a free course titled “The Fundamentals of Personal Finance Specialization,” which covers everything from savings to risk management. Khan Academy’s “Personal finance” course even delves into car payments, housing and financing a college education. Though some might argue that most of Brown’s course content could be learned online, the ability to discuss the material with a professor who is a leader in the field adds an immeasurable amount of value to the learning experience. A personal finance course likely does not require this level of expertise and mastery.
Co-curricular organizations are another effective avenue for teaching personal finance. If not through a practical online course, which is far easier to complete in the confines of one’s own schedule, a peer-to-peer form of education through a student organization is a viable option too. In the same way many student clubs have pushed for hosting talks to share their respective knowledge — whether it be Brown Investment Group or Alt Protein Project — a club dedicated to educating the Brown community about personal finances would be an amazing way to engage with the student population.
Don’t get me wrong — the University surely has room for improvement. But Brown’s focus should be on increasing the University’s prestige and global recognition to offer students the best undergraduate learning experience. Going down the road of offering vocationally-based courses is not the right direction to go.
Batisse Manhardt ’26 can be reached at batisse_manhardt@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
