Required courses

HS 300 Financial Planning: Process and Environment:
This course provides an overview of the financial planning process, including the role and responsibilities of a financial planner along with analytical tools to aid in financial decision-making. Topics include:

• Communication techniques
• Ethics
• Education planning and funding
• Time-value-of-money concepts
• Financial planning applications
• Regulatory issues
• Legal and economic environment for financial planning

HS 311 Fundamentals of Insurance Planning:
This course focuses on the role of planning for risk management needs. The topics covered include:

• Fundamental principles of risk management
• Principles of insurance
• Human capital risk
• Liability risk
• Property risk
• Financial wealth risk

HS 321 Income Taxation:
The course examines the federal income tax system with particular reference to the taxation of individuals. Concepts covered include:

• Gross income, exclusions from gross income
• Deductions
• Tax credits
• Capital gains and losses
• Taxation of life insurance
• Taxation of annuities
• Entity taxation of partnerships, LLCs, corporations, and proprietorships

HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs:
This course focuses on selecting the right retirement plan for the business and on individual retirement planning. Covers:

• Qualified plans, SEPs, SIMPLEs and 403(b) plans
• Nonqualified deferred compensation plans
• Practical knowledge needed for choosing the best retirement plan, especially for the small business, and designing a plan that will meet a client’s needs
• Individual retirement planning including IRAs and Roth IRAs, Social Security benefits, saving for retirement and planning for retirement plan distributions

HS 328 Investments:
This course covers various aspects of the principles of investments and their application to financial planning. Topics include:

• Risk analysis, risk and return computations
• Risk reduction through diversification
• Expected returns of various investments
• Nature of securities markets and investment companies
• Tax issues in investing
• Issues in the practice of portfolio management
• Examples of ethical and practical investment considerations

HS 330 Fundamentals of Estate Planning:
This course provides a basic understanding of the estate and gift tax system, including strategies of estate planning. Covers various aspects of estate and gift tax planning, including:

• Nature, valuation transfer, administration, and taxation of property
• Gratuitous transfers of property outright or with trusts, wills and powers of appointment
• Use of the marital deduction
• Valuation of assets
• Buy-sell agreements
• Client interview/fact finding
• Ethical standards
• Development of personal estate plans

HS 333 Personal Financial Planning: Comp. Case Analysis:
This course applies students' knowledge and skill set in personal financial planning techniques to a comprehensive case study. Students will integrate into a prioritized comprehensive financial plan the core financial planning disciplines of:

• Retirement
• Investment
• Risk management
• Income tax
• Employee benefits
• General principles

HS 347 Contemporary Applications in Financial Planning
This premium course examines contemporary financial planning challenges through a series of modern case studies, including:

• Aiding divorcees and blended families
• Financial planning for families with special needs
• Serving non-traditional families and LGBT clients
• Unique challenges associated with modern retirement income portfolios
• Hands-on application of behavioral finance, ethics, and estate planning

*The course HS 347 is replacing HS 314 and HS 319 on Dec. 31, 2019. If you enrolled prior to July 1, 2018 and wish to complete the ChFC^® program with HS 314 and HS 319, you must complete the entire designation by Dec. 31, 2019. After that date, all students will need to complete HS 347 as part of the curriculum. You may add HS 347 to your program at anytime.

Individual course: $810
Case study course (HS 333): $1,010
Contemporary Applications in Financial Planning (HS 347): $1,490
Package pricing: $2,150 starter package (first three courses); $5,400 full eight-course designation package.

Your tuition includes all required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, and your examination.

Pricing is for self-study courses. Webinar and Intensive Review Program (IRP) options are available for an additional cost. See below for more details.

For HS 347

• The original enrollment carries a nine-month-plus current month exam window.
• Retakes and reschedules carry a four-month plus current month exam window.
• The cost for retakes and reschedules is $250.00.

To receive the ChFC^® designation, you must successfully complete all courses and exams, meet experience requirements and ethics standards, and agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures. Participation in the Professional Recertification Program is also required.

Self-paced courses mean you choose when and how to study. A four-month exam window for your courses gives you plenty of time to study and prepare.

You are free to create your own plan for how you want to pace your studies. We recommend a steady approach so that you can truly absorb the material. From enrollment, you’ll have a window of four months in which to schedule your final exam. Your window opens on the day you enroll and includes the current month, plus the next four months.

For HS 347

• The original HS 347 enrollment carries a nine-month-plus current month exam window.
• Retakes and reschedules carry a four-month-plus current month exam window.
• The cost for retakes and reschedules is $250.00.

In addition to course textbooks, extensive online study materials including practice exams, audio reviews, engaging, dynamic video lessons, and more are made available to all students. You can purchase webinars and live reviews to enhance your learning experience. Once you complete a course, the next course in the program is automatically shipped to you if you’re signed up for a ChFC^® package.

Earn Your ChFC^® Your Way:

Flexible Self-Paced Program
The ChFC^® is for all faces of the financial services profession, including financial planners, insurance professionals, brokers, retirement experts and both home office and client-facing practitioners. The ChFC^® is an applied, hands-on designation that will enrich advisors’ ability to help American families. Students can study whenever and wherever they choose with interactive online courses, featuring videos lessons, animations, access to some of the best subject matter experts in the country.

These courses were developed with help from The American College of Financial Services’ corporate partners; each course is dedicated to the needs of today’s financial services professional.

With every registration, students are granted access to:

• Comprehensive course textbooks
• Downloadable e-books for your iPad^®, iPhone^®, or Android device
• Online discussion with course professor
• Audio reviews
• Streaming video lectures

Enhanced Online Learning: Webinar Classes Available

For select courses, a webinar study option is available for those who want a more familiar classroom feel as part of their student experience. Attend weekly classes online and ask questions in real-time. Many of these webinar classes come complete with smartphone- and tablet-ready material. To enroll in a webinar add $250.00 on top of the tuition.

Taking Your IRP
Below is a list of upcoming Intensive Review Programs. We recommend that you follow the recommended course sequence, and enroll in IRPs when they are available for your next course. If you are interested in enrolling in an IRP that is not for your next recommended course, please speak with a counselor by calling 888-263-7265. To enroll in an IRP add $350.00 on top of tuition.

If you have any questions, please read the IRP FAQ.

See the Student Resources and Policies page for comprehensive details on refund policies, learning policies, recertification information, and more.

In 2018, the curriculum for the ChFC^® designation changed. You can review commonly asked questions about this change here.

What is changing in the ChFC^® program curriculum?
Two ChFC^® designation courses, HS 314 - Applications in Financial Planning I, and HS 319 - Applications in Financial Planning II, will be combined into one streamlined course, HS 347 - Contemporary Applications in Financial Planning.

What is HS 347?
HS 347 - Contemporary Applications in Financial Planning - examines the unique challenges associated with current topics in the financial planning profession. Up-to-date content and compelling case studies provide students with a complex yet comprehensive understanding of financial planning in important areas, including estate planning, special needs planning, small business planning, divorced and blended families, and planning for retirement. Course materials consist of an e-textbook and supplemental learning materials, including sample exams, review questions, interactive exercises, and video learning content. The final examination is a multiple choice exam of 150 questions. Course topics are separated into modules consisting of two chapters of text, and one case study. Each chapter has accompanying videos, review questions, interactive exercises, and true-false questions.

Why is this change happening?
Combining HS 314 and HS 319 into one course will make it easier for students to understand the comprehensive financial planning topics covered in the ChFC^®. By reducing the number of courses in the designation program, The College will also be able to update ChFC^® content more frequently.

HS 347 incorporates most of the content from the two courses it is replacing. By combining two courses into one, students will have the best of both worlds – all the modern applications-based content of the two previous courses, but with only one exam to take.

HS 347 will serve as one, complete applications-based “cap” for ChFC^® students, as well as for CFP^® professionals who which to earn the ChFC^®.

When is this change occurring?
As of July 1, 2018, the courses HS 314 - Applications in Financial Planning I, and HS 319 - Applications in Financial Planning II will no longer be open to new student enrollments.

I am pursuing the ChFC^® at the time of the curriculum change. How am I affected?
If you are already enrolled in the ChFC^® program, but you have not completed or begun HS 314 and/or HS 319, you will continue under your current curriculum requirements, with no changes.

You will have until December 31, 2019, to complete the ChFC^® designation under the current program requirements. If you do not finish your ChFC^® within this 18-month window, you will be transitioned to the new ChFC^® curriculum and will be required to complete HS 347 to earn the designation.

If you have already completed or begun HS 314 and/or HS 319, you have until December 31, 2019, to complete the ChFC^® designation under the current program requirements. If you do not finish your ChFC^® within this 18-month window, you will be transitioned to the new ChFC^® curriculum and will be required to complete HS 347 to earn the ChFC^® designation. If you have already completed or are currently enrolled in HS 314 or HS 319, please be sure to complete your ChFC^® in advance of this deadline to avoid losing credit for those courses.

I have a CFP^® certification, what must I do to earn the ChFC^®?
The first seven courses in the Chartered Financial Consultant^® (ChFC^®) designation are identical to the seven required courses to complete Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP^®) certification education requirements.

Many people who have a CFP^® certification, or who have completed the CFP^® education but do not have the CFP^® license, may wish to earn the ChFC^® designation in addition to, or instead of, the CFP^®. A CFP^® is not required to enroll in the ChFC^®. A student may earn the ChFC^® in the following ways:

• Enroll in the ChFC^® program and take all seven required CFP^® courses, plus HS 347
• A CFP^® license holder in good standing may take HS 347 to get the ChFC^® without going through the process of transferring in all of the original coursework. CFPs in good standing can earn ChFC^® by completing with HS 347, regardless of whether they have completed the capstone course HS 333 - Personal Financial Planning: Comp. Case Analysis.
• Enroll in the ChFC^® program and transfer in some courses. All seven required CFP^® courses can be transferred in. HS 347 cannot be transferred in. If someone does not have the CFP^® license in good standing, they must provide all of the original course documents and transcripts and the courses must have been completed within seven years.

Will I be provided with a longer examination window for HS 347?
The original HS 347 enrollment carries a nine-month-plus current month exam window. Retakes and reschedules carry a four-month-plus current month exam window. The cost for retakes and reschedules is $250.00.

Will my HS 347 examination be longer than the examinations for other courses in the ChFC^® program?
HS 347 is a longer course and has a lengthier exam that other ChFC^® designation courses. This course has a 150-question, multiple choice exam, and allows four hours for completion.

The ChFC^® designation shares common courses with the CFP^® certification and CLU^® designation. View this chart to see how these designations overlap.