2014 – 2015
Florida Department of Education
Curriculum Framework 

Program Title:	Financial Para-planner – Financial Services
Career Cluster:	Finance

CCC	
CIP Number	0252080102	
Program Type	College Credit Certificate (CCC)	
Program Length	12 credit hours	
CTSO	Collegiate DECA, Phi Beta Lambda	
SOC Codes (all applicable) 	13-2052 – Personal Financial Advisors	
Targeted Occupation List	http://www.labormarketinfo.com/wec/TargetOccupationList.htm	
Perkins Technical Skill Attainment Inventory	http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/perkins/perkins_resources.asp 	
Statewide Articulation	http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp 	

Purpose

This certificate program is part of the Financial Services AS degree program (1252080100).

A College Credit Certificate consists of a program of instruction of less than sixty (60) credits of college-level courses, which is part of an AS or AAS degree program and prepares students for entry into employment (Rule 6A-14.030, F.A.C.).

The purpose of the program is to prepare students for employment in the financial planning industry.  This program also provides necessary skills needed to advance beyond a clerical position in a financial planner’s office.  This program focuses on broad transferable skills and stresses understanding and demonstration of the following elements of the financial planning industry.  These include Fundamentals of Financial Planning, Principles of Insurance, Investment Planning, and Retirement Planning and Employment Benefits. 

Internship:  Internships are an integral part of this program.  This program is designed for students to learn how to interact with the client.  The intern will meet the client, along with a financial planner and will ask questions to understand the client’s attitudes about money, risk tolerance and goals.

The intern will learn to gather and then input the data into financial planning software, and then help the financial planner analyze data to develop a plan for the client.

This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the Finance career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of the Finance career cluster. 

Additional Information relevant to this Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is provided at the end of this document.

Standards

After successfully completing this program, the student will be able to perform the following:

01.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the financial planning process.
02.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept and use of insurance products as it relates to the financial planning process.
03.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of investing as it relates to the financial planning process.
04.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept of retirement planning as it relates to the financial planning process. 
05.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept of employee benefits as it relates to the financial planning process.
06.0	Demonstrate the ability to apply financial planning principles.

2014 – 2015
Florida Department of Education
Student Performance Standards

Program Title:	Financial Para-planner – Financial Services
CIP Number:		0252080102
Program Length:	12 credit hours
SOC Code(s):		13-2052

This certificate program is part of the Financial Services AS degree program (1252080100).  At the completion of this program, the student will be able to:
	
01.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the financial planning process – the student will be able to:	
01.01	Identify and explain the major steps of the financial planning process as recognized and defined by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.	
01.02	Identify and explain the economic environment as it relates to the financial planning process.	
01.03	Demonstrate knowledge and proficiency in calculating time value of money.	
01.04	Identify and explain the legal environment as it relates to the financial planning process.	
01.05	Identify and explain financial analysis.	
01.06	Identify and explain ethical and professional considerations in financial planning.	
01.07	Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to comply with National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) general regulations pertaining to the financial planning industry.	
02.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept and use of insurance products as they relate to the financial planning process – the student will be able to:	
02.01	Explain the principles of risk management and insurance.	
02.02	Identify and explain the principles of property insurance.	
02.03	Identify and explain the principles of liability insurance.	
02.04	Identify and describe various insurance products as they apply to financial planning.	
03.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of investing as it relates to the financial planning process – the student will be able to:	
03.01	Discuss the concepts of investment regulation.	
03.02	Identify and explain investment theory.	
03.03	Discuss the operation of financial markets.	
03.04	Identify and discuss investment strategies and tactics in financial planning.	
03.05	Discuss and explain modern portfolio theory.	
04.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept of retirement planning as it relates to the financial planning process – the student will be able to:	
04.01	Explain the basic concept of retirement planning.	
04.02	Identify and describe the various types of retirement plans.	
04.03	Explain the characteristics of qualified retirement plans.	
04.04	Identify and explain the factors that need to be considered in retirement planning.	
04.05	Identify and explain distributions and distribution options from retirement options.  	
05.0	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concept of employee benefits as it relates to the financial planning process – the student will be able to: 	
05.01	Identify and explain the concept of employee benefits.	
05.02	Identify and describe the various types of employee benefits.	
05.03	Explain the concept and identify the benefits of social security and Medicare.	
06.0	Demonstrate the ability to apply financial planning principles – the student will be able to:	
06.01	Demonstrate knowledge of the financial planning process.	
06.02	Demonstrate knowledge of the products and services used in the financial planning industry.	
06.03	Demonstrate the ability to interface with the client and collect pertinent personal and financial data.	
06.04	Demonstrate the ability to organize, input and analyze data used in various financial software programs.	
06.05	Demonstrate the ability to formulate a basic financial plan.	
06.06	Demonstrate ability to monitor and track the products and/or services provided from initiation to implementation.	
06.07	Demonstrate the ability the ability to respond to client inquiries.	

Additional Information

Laboratory Activities

Laboratory activities are an integral part of this program.  These activities include instruction in the use of safety procedures, tools, equipment, materials, and processes related to these occupations.  Equipment and supplies should be provided to enhance hands-on experiences for students. 

Special Notes

	Sample Course Outline

Course		Credit Hours
FIN 1122	Fundamentals of Financial Planning	3
RMI 1521	Principles of Insurance	3
FIN 2123	Investment Planning, Retirement Planning
	and Employee Benefits	3
FIN 1943	Internship	3 

Total Credits	12

Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO)

Collegiate DECA and Phi Beta Lambda are the appropriate career and technical student organization for providing leadership training and reinforcing specific career and technical skills.  Career and Technical Student Organizations provide activities for students as an integral part of the instruction offered.  The activities of such organizations are defined as part of the curriculum in accordance with Rule 6A-6.065, F.A.C.

Accommodations

Federal and state legislation requires the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities as identified on the secondary student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 plan or postsecondary student’s accommodations’ plan to meet individual needs and ensure equal access.  Postsecondary students with disabilities must self-identify, present documentation, request accommodations if needed, and develop a plan with their counselor and/or instructors.  Accommodations received in postsecondary education may differ from those received in secondary education.  Accommodations change the way the student is instructed.  Students with disabilities may need accommodations in such areas as instructional methods and materials, assignments and assessments, time demands and schedules, learning environment, assistive technology and special communication systems.  Documentation of the accommodations requested and provided should be maintained in a confidential file.

Articulation

For details on articulation agreements which correlate to programs and industry certifications refer to http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp.