Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was established in 1970 in central Brooklyn and named after Medgar Evers, an African American civil rights leader assassinated on June 12, 1963. recognized as a Predominately Black Institution, MEC serves over 3,200 undergraduate students in associate and bachelor’s degree programs.
MEC Team
Dr. Khasadyahu Coleman Zarbabal, Assistant Professor Finance & Economics
Dr. Jesse Kane, Senior Vice President Student Success & Enrollment
Dr. Chinyere Egbe, Chair Finance & Economics
Sydney Wayman, Adjunct Faculty and Financial Coach
MEC’s Course Based Model
MEC launched the MSFCP™ in January 2025, by adapting its Introduction to Finance course to incorporate one-on-one financial coaching and offer students the opportunity to gain financial wellness behaviors. The 3-credit course is a part of the Department of Economics and Finance and is required for the B.S. in Financial Economics degree program. The existing course emphasizes the conceptual foundations of financial decision-making but also includes exercises to help students set financial goals and meet the metrics of the MSFCP. MEC has continued to offer this course for all semesters of the MSFCP program.
MEC Innovative Practices
The class modality is online asynchronous, which means that the coaching associated with the class must also be done remotely by Zoom or Teams. A percentage of the course grade is based on completion of three coaching sessions. Students complete weekly assignments on Brightspace and work on personal activities for the one-on-one coaching sessions, like tracking expenses or completing a budget. Students sign up for coaching sessions by using an online scheduling tool.
The course content is augmented by special sessions given by the JPMorganChase Community Manger, who delivers several online presentations each semester on topics such as saving, building credit, and dealing with fraud and scams. The Community Manager also offers in-person sessions that are available to students enrolled in the course and are open to other students from the general college community.
Progress to Date
For the 2025 Fall Semester, MEC enrolled 21 students. 14 passed the course and participated in at least two financial coaching sessions for a completion rate of 66.7%. Other milestones include:
- 50% of the students participated in 3+ coaching sessions
- 100% created a budget
- 100% achieved a financial goal
- 36% increased their savings while participating in MSFCP with an average savings increase of $740
- 36% decreased their debt while participating in MSFCP with an average debt reduction of $629