Financial-literacy training is gaining ground on college campuses, according to a survey released today by Student Lending Analytics, a college advisory firm.

Nearly 40 percent of financial-aid administrators surveyed said their colleges provided financial-literacy training to students. Of those who said their colleges did not offer such a program, half indicated the institution planned to start one in the next 12 to 18 months. Only 15 percent of respondents said that financial-literacy programs at their colleges were mandatory for students.

The most popular topics covered in such programs were budgeting, planning for loan repayment, credit cards, identity theft, and understanding a credit report, according to the survey, which covered 200 financial-aid professionals and was conducted from September 3 to 5.

Almost 90 percent of respondents said such training was handled by the financial-aid office on their campus. Most respondents said their college trained with financial-literacy content developed in-house, though 38 percent used materials from guarantors and 16 percent used materials from lenders. —Beckie Supiano