Fulton Montgomery Community College (FMCC) is a small regional community college in the State University of NY (SUNY) system. Located in Johnstown, NY, approximately 45 minutes west of Saratoga Springs, the college enrolls approximately 1,200 credit and noncredit students.
FMCC implemented the original MSFCP in the fall of 2022. As a small college with limited staff, the college utilizes their faculty to not only teach the course, but to serve as financial coaches. From 2022-2024, FMCC provided financial coaching to over 160 students in the college’s business and finance programs.
FMCC Team
Laurence Zuckerman, CPA, MST, CFEI®, Professor, Financial Coach and Grant Administrator
Charlene Dybas, M.S. Ed., CFEI®, Assistant Professor and Financial Coach
FMCC’s Course Based Model
FMCC incorporated MSFCP™ modules and curriculum into a standalone noncredit course. The course was originally offered over a ten-week period delivered in-person. However, depending on the cohort of students, the course can be delivered in a more flexible manner to accommodate students’ academic schedules. After the first semester, the program length was shortened to six weeks with in-person sessions offered at the beginning and some online resources available through Brightspace later in the course.
The faculty deliver the course content and serve as coaches to provide the one-on-one financial coaching. Both faculty members have extensive experience with prior careers in banking and accounting. Students are scheduled for individual coaching sessions after completing several MSFCP curriculum modules to ensure they have a financial foundation prior to coaching.
The college markets the program widely to all students during orientation, tabling events, and open house events. The college also works with faculty and student services staff to target students in programs such as Radiation Technology degree program and learners in various adult learning certifications. Most recently, the college has been asked to deliver the program to students enrolled in various grant programs across the campus.
FMCC Innovative Practices
Both faculty members co-teach the MSFCP course and students may choose either faculty member to serve as their financial coach. This structure promotes an excellent opportunity for seamless coordination between classroom and coaching activities. The FMCC MSFCP team implemented several strategies to recruit learners to the project including speaking at the Campus-wide semester orientation program, word of mouth, internal campus televisions, marketing flyers, table events, and in-classroom promotions from faculty.
Progress to Date
For the 2025 Fall Semester, FMCC enrolled 53 students. 39 completed the course and participated in at least two financial coaching sessions for a completion rate of 88.7%. Other milestones include:
- 64% of the students participated in 3+ coaching sessions
- 97% created a budget
- 97% achieved a financial goal
- 26% increased their credit score while participating in MSFCP with an average increase of 15 points
- 46% increased their savings while participating in MSFCP with an average savings increase of $1,663
- 10% decreased their debt while participating in MSFCP with an average debt reduction of $891