Kaplan Professional is looking to launch a dedicated Bachelor in Financial Planning undergraduate degree next year.
This would be the first undergraduate degree offered in financial planning by Kaplan as its current offerings focused on postgraduates and were Master of Financial Planning, Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning and Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning.
While there were options available to study financial planning at an undergraduate level at other universities, these were usually as part of a wider Commerce or Business degrees such as Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Financial Planning) at Curtin University and Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning) at RMIT University, although these were still approved for the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) requirements.
Brian Knight, chief executive of Kaplan, said the direct approach would be quicker.
“We are close to launching a Bachelor in Financial Planning degree, this would open up education requirements, there are not enough advisers in the industry so this needs to be an option,” he said.
“We are working to get that accredited and working with the industry and licensees to work out what is needed in terms of curriculum and skillset and ensuring students are equipped with what the consumer needs. We have been working on it for two years and it should be regulated next year.”
He said students were less likely to be put off by the FASEA requirements as they understood that education was a lifelong journey and were undeterred at the prospect of taking more exams.
Finance modules should also be taught in schools, he said, which would give students an early understanding of finance and the possible jobs available once they graduated.
“We need to think about getting that skillset and curriculum in schools such as an understanding of tax, insurance and super, that’s the future and it will be a challenge for education providers to better equip students with this knowledge,” Knight said.
