Certified College Financial Consultant (CCFC)

The Premiere College and Student Loan Advising Designation and Education Program for advisors and financial professionals.

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An interactive and engaging online learning experience designed to be completed at your own pace.

CCFC STATS

Check out the progress we are making towards having a diverse group of qualified financial professionals become the go-to experts for all things related to college planning and student loan advising.

72

Percentage of CCFCs who also hold the CPA, CFP, or ChFC Designations.

25

Number of States Where CCFCs are Located

27

Percentage of CCFCs who are Female

Designation Program and Education Course Pathways

To learn more about the requirements and application process for pursuing either the CCFC Designation Program or the AICCFC Education Course, click on the images below!

Relevant Topics with Practical Applications

• Education Funding

• Financial Aid Planning

• Planning with Education Tax Deductions and Credits

• Student Loan Advising

• Practical Planning Strategies:

  • High Income and High Net Worth Individuals

  • Divorced/Divorcing Couples and Non-Traditional Families

  • Business Owners

  • Grandparents

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CFP Board Approved CE

The AICCFC Education Course is eligible for 15 CE Credits approved by the CFP Board and the program is designed to be completed in approximately 15 hours.

Additionally, the AICCFC also offers free 1-hour CE webinars on a quarterly basis through CPA Academy.

Resource Center and Community Forum*

CCFC Designation holders receive unlimited access to PowerPoint Presentations, Planning Checklists, Report Templates, Calculators, and More!

They also receive unlimited access to private discussion forums where you can discuss the latest planning strategies and client cases with fellow CCFCs and the instructor as well!

Lead Generation and "Find An Advisor" Profile*

Prospective families and individuals looking for help with college planning or student loan advising issues can easily submit their questions to the AICCFC or identify a qualified CCFC by using the "Find An Advisor" search function on the site.

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Each CCFC has their own profile page with links to their website, LinkedIn profile, and email. In addition, we have partnered with Accredible to offer digital certificates so prospective clients can verify who is an active CCFC.

Member Discounts to FinTech Solutions*

CCFC Designation holders are able to receive significant discounts on innovative FinTech software solutions that are designed to help advisors put into practice what they learn in the CCFC Education Course. 

*Member benefits only available to those who enroll in the CCFC Designation Program Pathway.

“The CCFC program offered by the AICCFC is a terrific educational experience that truly fills in the gaps leftover by other designation programs. What we have found in our retirement planning practice is that clients are having children later in life narrowing the gap between sending their kids to college and beginning retirement. The CCFC designation program and its resources have provided the skills and resources to help our clients build a bridge between sending their kids to college and retirement funding.”

Scott Winslow

MSFS, ChFC, CLU, RICP, AEP, CCFC

Becca Bailey

“The CCFC designation has opened me up to so many opportunities specific to the world of higher education finances beyond my initial interest related to student loan repayment. Having insight into the full lifecycle of this process provides unique value in quality of client advice. Furthermore, I’ve received almost immediate trusted authority in multiple business dealings from complete strangers. I’ve created so many unexpected and advantageous relationships including board members from local colleges, student loan lender referral partners, proactive solicitation for community sponsorship and media advertising, and consultation for EdTech/FinTech products.”

CPA, CCFC

“I greatly enjoyed the online education experience while I completed the CCFC Education Course. The content was thorough and presented in a diversified way that can appeal to all various learning preferences and styles. With the knowledge gained from the CCFC course I am now able to provide expert advice to a vast array of clients saving for to pay for secondary & higher education as well as those in the education loan repayment phase of their financial planning.”

Jonathan Ferguson

CCFC

Amy Irvine

CFP, EA, MPAS, CCFC

“As a firm, we offer student loan consulting services, and it breaks our heart to see people feel so overwhelmed by student loans.  While we understand that student loans are crippling many Americans, we also believe that the cause of student loans is not understanding the options available prior to selecting a college.   We believe that planning for college is not just saving for college (although that is a piece of it), but it includes looking at the various options available, including the student and the parents in on the conversation, and explaining to them what they need to do to maximize scholarships, as well as building in the tax components of the paying for college.

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The program embodies these concepts and gives me a resource to reflect back on when unique situations arise with our clients.  Between the knowledge this designation brings to the table, and the software developed by CollegeAidPro, we feel, as a firm, like we have the right tools in place to combat the rising costs of college, and ultimately the student loan crisis.”
 

Scott Kawecki

“As a current candidate for CFP®, I found the CCFC Education Course to be a great resource to increase my knowledge above and beyond the five key areas in the CFP® curriculum.  The depth of content was exactly what I was looking for as an advisor who has a network of families approaching their college years.  The ease of accessibility made it convenient for me to complete the coursework on my own schedule and wasn’t too overwhelming!  I look forward to seeing the expansion of this designation within the advisor community and being able to learn from one another as we help families with this important financial decision.”

CCFC

Robert Falcon

CPA/PFS, CFP, CCFC

"I had been helping families with college financial planning for nearly 3 years prior to learning about the CCFC®. While I did receive excellent training from another organization in college financial planning area and held my CPA and CFP® designations, I had nothing on my resume that reflected my college financial planning expertise. I considered other college financial planning designations and organizations, but most of them were self-serving (promoted life insurance) or focused primarily on helping college graduates who already incurred significant student loan debt.

CCFC® professionals focus on helping students before, during and after the college planning process. The requirement that all CCFCs have an advanced certification means that each Designation holder brings a specialty to the AICCFC organization.  After realizing that the majority of CCFC® Designation holders were CPAs or CFP® Professionals (and therefore fiduciaries), it was very easy to commit to becoming a CCFC®!"