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This is an implementation report on the course entitled “Applied Management Special Course: Considering Consumer Finance,” offered at the Faculty of Economics, Toyama University during the period from November 6th, 2003 to January 22°d, 2004. Since we are presumably the first Japanese university to offer a credit-course on consumer finance, reporting on such an endeavor should be worthwhile.
Chapter I outlines the background of “Considering Consumer Finance,” including the establishment of a study group on personal finance within the faculty and the research grant from the Council for the Promotion of Research on Consumer Financial Services. Further, the course policy of utilizing outside lecturers and interactive sessions is also explained.
Chapter II explains course contents. Three representative lectures are elaborated on: Current Economic Situation and the Consumer Finance Issues (Kenichi Haga, Professor, Faculty of Economics, Niigata University); Development of Consumer Finance (Kohichi Nakayama et. al., Liaison Group of Consumer Finance Companies); and Maximum Interest Rate Issues (Tsukasa Itoh, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Nanzan University). Students’ opinions/questions in the interactive sessions are also reported, including “the relationship between the automatic loan-application machine and the increase in the dead loan”, “industry-wide lending caps for individuals to prevent multiple debts,” and “personal bankruptcy.”
Chapter III summarizes students’ responses and course achievements. According to the course evaluation, the majority of students had a “keen interest” in the course. On the whole, 26.3% of the students evaluated the course as “excellent” and 73.7% as “good.” Students also commented in their term paper that the course served to “change the image of consumer finance,” helped them to “understand the reality of the consumer credit market and the industry’s business status,” to “realize the existence of grey-zone in interest rate,” to “recognize the importance of personal credit data,” to “know the danger of multiple debt” and to “become more interested in consumer finance”.
Chapter IV lists future challenges for the course.
Chapter V details the course accomplishments in four points: (1) increased academic awareness on the part of students; (2) diversified approach towards consumer finance; (3) practice of social education based on hands-on expertise; and (4) momentum for academic research on consumer finance.
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