Required ChFC^® 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 core financial planning disciplines of:

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

* Students are eligible to enroll in the capstone course (HS 333) after completing the first 6 courses of the curriculum in both the CFP and ChFC programs (HS 300, HS 311, HS 321, HS 326, HS 328, HS 330). HS 333 is a course designed to bring together elements from all of the previous foundation courses, and prepares students to synthesize and apply their knowledge of the financial planning process, insurance, taxation, investments, retirement, and estate planning through the delivery of a comprehensive financial plan.

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 these two courses prior to Dec. 31, 2019. If HS 314 and HS 319 are not completed prior to Dec. 31, 2019 you will be required to do HS 347.

To receive a Huebner School designation (including ChFC^®, CLF^®, CLU^®, RICP^®, and WMCP^®), you must successfully complete all courses in your selected program, meet experience requirements and ethics standards, and agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures. 

Experience

Three years of full-time business experience is required for all Huebner School designations. The three-year period must be within the five years preceding the date of the award. An undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited educational institution qualifies as one year of business experience. Part-time qualifying business experience is credited toward the three-year requirement on an hourly basis, with 2,000 hours representing the equivalent of one year full-time experience. The following activities meet the required business experience qualifications included in the certification process.

       Insurance and health care

• Field underwriting and management, including sales and service activities, supervision and management of persons involved in sales or services, or staff support of persons in these activities.
• Company management and operations in positions involving substantial responsibility.

       Financial services and employee benefits

• Client service and related management, including direct contact with clients, supervision and management of persons involved directly in the process of providing financial services or employee benefits, or staff support of persons in these activities.
• Financial institution management and operations in positions involving substantial responsibility.

       Other

• University or college teaching of subjects related to the Huebner School curriculum on a full-time basis at an accredited institution of higher education.
• Government regulatory service in a responsible administrative, supervisory, or operational capacity.
• Activities directly or indirectly related to the protection, accumulation, conservation, or distribution of the economic value of human life; these include the work of actuaries, attorneys, CPAs, investment advisers, real estate investment advisers, stockbrokers, trust officers, or persons in other similar occupations.

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. 

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

Because the ChFC® certification shares common courses with the CLU® and CFP® designations, you have the option to work towards multiple designations at once. View this chart to see how these courses overlap — and how you can earn multiple designations faster.