The American College of Financial Services

Last updated
The American College of Financial Services
The American College PA logo.svg
Former names
The American College of Life Underwriters
Type Private online university
Established1927
Accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education
President George Nichols III
Academic staff
21
Students30,000
Location, ,
United States

40°01′05″N75°19′37″W / 40.018°N 75.327°W / 40.018; -75.327
Website www.theamericancollege.edu

The American College of Financial Services (The American College) is a private online university focused on professional training for financial practitioners and located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It offers several professional certifications and master's degrees. [1] Annually, The American College educates approximately 40,000 students, mainly through distance education.

Contents

Members can use the CLU designation after their names, as seen in this circa 1950s postcard. Homer E. Turner (Chartered Life Underwriter) Life Insurance, 105 West Bel Air Avenue, Aberdeen, MD (87059).jpg
Members can use the CLU designation after their names, as seen in this circa 1950s postcard.

The institution was founded as The American College of Life Underwriters in 1927 by Solomon S. Huebner of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Huebner was a professional involved in the development of economic theory. His theory of human life value is used in the field of insurance. It was his vision for a college-level professional education program for insurance agents that led to the creation of The American College. [2]

Today the college offers professional training to all types of financial practitioners. When the institution began, programs focused exclusively on providing education to life insurance professionals. The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation was the first credential offered by The College. [3] Today The College provides training for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam, The Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation, and the Master of Science in Financial Services (MSFS) master's degree.

Twenty full-time faculty members and financial experts work at the campus. [4]

The American College campus was bought by the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in 2007. [5]

In May 2019, The American College moved its operational headquarters to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. [6]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.

A Master of Business Administration is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounting, applied statistics, human resources, business communication, business ethics, business law, strategic management, business strategy, finance, managerial economics, management, entrepreneurship, marketing, supply-chain management, and operations management in a manner most relevant to management analysis and strategy. It originated in the United States in the early 20th century when the country industrialized and companies sought scientific management.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world, and it is the world's oldest collegiate business school, established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Winnipeg</span> University located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Securities Institute</span> Canadian organization

The Canadian Securities Institute is a Canadian organization that offers licensing courses, advanced certifications, continuing education and custom training for financial services professionals in Canada and internationally.

Dr. William Dudley "Billy" Geer, also known as W. D. Geer, was a Christian educator who served as the first Dean of the School of Business at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. His research interests focused on finance, insurance, applied economic analysis, real estate, and economic history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutztown University of Pennsylvania</span> Public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, United States

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claremont Graduate University</span> Private graduate university in Claremont, California, United States

The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two graduate institutions of higher education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of Insurance</span> Americna specialized college

The College of Insurance (TCI) was a specialized accredited college, started by insurance industry leaders in 1901 as an insurance library society, the Insurance Society of New York (ISNY). The Insurance Society of New York initially provided study space and material to young people entering the insurance industry, and served as a site for insurance lectures. Over the years, ISNY developed a curriculum based upon these lectures. The curriculum ultimately led to the creation of The School of Insurance, followed by The College of Insurance.

Following is a partial list of professional certifications in financial services, with an overview of the educational and continuing requirements for each; see Professional certification § Accountancy, auditing and finance and Category:Professional certification in finance for all articles. As the field of finance has increased in complexity in recent years, the number of available designations has grown, and, correspondingly, some will have more recognition than others. Note that in the US, many state securities and insurance regulators do not allow financial professionals to use a designation — in particular a "senior" designation — unless it has been accredited by either the American National Standards Institute or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida International University College of Business</span>

The Florida International University (FIU) College of Business, located in Miami, Florida in the United States is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 1965. The college is split into two separate schools: the Landon Undergraduate School of Business with over 7,00 students and the Chapman Graduate School of Business with close to 2,200 students, making the College of Business the most popular and largest professional college at FIU. The College of Business attracts top faculty and students and is consistently ranked highly by the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, the Financial Times, and BusinessWeek.

Financial gerontology is a multidisciplinary field of study encompassing both academic and professional education, that integrates research on aging and human development with the concerns of finance and business. Following from its roots in social gerontology, Financial gerontology is not simply the study of old people but emphasizes the multiple processes of aging. In particular, research and teaching in financial gerontology draws upon four kinds of aging or "'four lenses" through which aging and finance can be viewed: population aging, individual aging, family aging, and generational aging. While it is problematic that "demography is destiny," demographic concepts, issues, and data play a substantial role in understanding the dynamics of financial gerontology. For example, through the lens of population aging, demography identifies the number of persons of different ages in cities and countries—and at multiple points in time. Through the lens of individual aging, demography also notes changes in the length of time—number of years lived in older age, typically measured by increases in life expectancy. From in its founding years in the beginning of the 21st century, one primary interest of Financial Gerontology has been on baby boomers and their relationships with their parents. The impact of these two kinds of aging on finance are reasonably apparent. The large and increasing number of older persons [population aging] in a society, no matter how "old age" is defined, and the longer each of these persons lives [individual aging], the greater the impact on a society's pattern of retirement, public and private pension systems, health, health care, and the personal and societal financing of health care. The focus on boomers illustrates also the other two lenses or "kinds" of aging. How boomers deal with the social, emotional, and financial aspects of their parents' aging is a central aspect of family aging. And how boomers may differ from their parents born and raised twenty to forty years earlier, and differ from their Generation X and Millennial children and grandchildren, are substantial aspects of generational aging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Nicosia</span> University in Cyprus

The University of Nicosia was established in 1980 and its main campus is located in Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus. It also runs study centres in Athens, Bucharest and New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland University</span> Private Christian university in Ashland, Ohio, United States

Ashland University is a private Christian university in Ashland, Ohio. The university consists of a 135-acre (55 ha) main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio. Ashland was founded in 1878 as Ashland College. It is affiliated with The Brethren Church.

Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada (TFAAC) is the largest voluntary professional membership association of financial advisors in Canada, representing more than 13,000 members and 40 chapters across the country.

J. Barry Griswell is former Chairman and CEO of the Principal Financial Group and retired CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

A chartered professional is a person who has gained a specific level of skill or competence in a particular field of work, which has been recognised by the award of a formal credential by a relevant professional organization. Chartered status is considered a mark of professional competency, and is awarded mainly by chartered professional bodies and learned societies. Common in Britain, it is also used in Ireland, the United States and the Commonwealth, and has been adopted by organizations around the world.

Solomon Stephen Huebner was Emeritus Professor of Insurance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Emeritus President of The American College of Life Underwriters, and Emeritus Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for Property and Liability Underwriters.

The Insurance Institute of Canada is a not-for-profit organization which provides nationally standardized professional development programs for the insurance industry in Canada. Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Toronto, the IIC is an umbrella organization of 19 provincial and regional chapters across Canada.

Kaplan Financial Education is part of Kaplan University School of Professional and Continuing Education, based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Kaplan Financial Education is a consortium of numerous financial services training and publishing companies providing insurance and securities licensing exam preparation, along with continuing education. It is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company.

References

  1. The American College. 2012. "Academics".
  2. Stone, Mildred F. 1960. The Teacher Who Changed an Industry. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 8.
  3. Baird, John. 1997. The Power of One. Bryn Mawr, PA: The American College Press. p. ix.
  4. The American College. 2012. "Industry Recognized Faculty".
  5. Richard Ilgenfritz, "Akiba to head to American College Site" The Main Line Times, (Volume 77, No. 28, July 12, 2007 - July 18, 2007) p. 1-2.
  6. The American College of Financial Services Plans Major Move. 2017