Credit scores within the Personal Finance Simulation are a combination of five different factors:
The five factors for credit scores are:
i. Academics: The grades your instructor submits 25%
ii. Attendance: Whether or not you attended class 25%
iii. Debt/income ratio: Your debt compared to your income 15%
iv. Payment history: Whether or not you’ve made your payments 25%
v. Revolving credit: The purchases you make with your credit card 10%
If your students have missed payments or been overly absent/tardy in your class, this can significantly affect their credit score and overall grade in the simulation.
What Can Students Do
The quickest way for students themselves to improve their credit scores would be to stay consistent with their payments and make improvements to their Debt-to-Income Ratio.
Attendance in class, such as absences and tardies, is a significant factor in the grade. However, it can take a bit more time to make improvements towards the credit score.
What Can Instructors Do
If your students have significant missed payments on their accounts, you can mark these payments as paid on time. This will significantly improve the overall credit score if they have missed quite a few payments. Steps on how to do so here: Personal Finance Simulation | Missed Payments/Marking Payments On Time
Additionally, you can mark some absences/tardies as On Time. Steps on how to do so here: Personal Finance Simulation | Attendance