UK launching one-of-a-kind program to help students become healthy, wealthy & wise

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The University of Kentucky is launching a new program to help students become healthier, wealthier and wiser.

Your time in college will teach you a lot. However, between classes for your major and filling general education requirements, practical knowledge can slip through the cracks.

UK Invest is an incentive-based investing initiative that university officials say will help students while they’re in school and after they graduate.

“How do we think about holistic wellness? How do we anchor that in financial education? And how do we provide opportunities for our students to learn about investing and compounding?” said Eric Monday, Executive Director of Finance and Administration.

Monday says UK Invest is a one-of-a-kind program that teaches students financial literacy while getting them to start investing and reaping those rewards.

“We attended an event for a free t-shirt, or maybe it was the free pizza? Well, maybe that’s not a free t-shirt anymore. Maybe it’s we’re incentivizing you to go to that event and we’re putting $5 or $10 in your investment account,” said Monday.

The university will invite groups of students to join this program throughout the year and you can create an account.

Over the course of the year, there will be classes you can attend about things like banking and personal finance and for each number of courses you take, you’ll receive an investment from the university into your account.

University officials want this to be a holistic approach to bettering their students. So, things like going to events, going to the gym and promoting a healthy lifestyle mentally and physically can earn you those investments too.

“We’re going to use this investment account to incent, to encourage other healthy behaviors and habits beyond just financial education,” Monday said.

Monday says the university is investing a million dollars into this program that is being rolled out for student-athletes right now. He says, in the coming weeks, another group of students will be invited to join, and, by the fall of next year, the program will be open to all students and staff members.

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