# Instructor Pilot Guide

## Purpose

Ram Ready Financial Futures teaches how financial systems work — banking, credit, taxes, careers, investing,
business structures, insurance, and (optionally) advanced wealth systems — rather than prescribing one correct
way to live. It is an independent, open-source pilot, not official Angelo State University credit or policy.

## Intended audience

First-year Angelo State University students, while remaining openly accessible to the public.

## Learning outcomes

By the end of the Financial Foundations Story, a learner should be able to: read a pay stub and a balance
sheet; compare checking/savings/credit-union options; compare the total cost of credit under different payment
strategies; compare renting/buying/shared-housing tradeoffs; distinguish salary from total compensation; and
stress-test a long-term plan under multiple assumptions. See `docs/CURRICULUM_MAP.md` for the full
episode-by-episode and quest-by-quest outcome/source mapping.

By the end of Future Wealth Quest, a learner should be able to: distinguish net worth from cash; distinguish
income from durable wealth; identify appropriate professional roles and how to verify their credentials;
explain governance, liquidity, and concentration-risk concepts; and reason through competing stakeholder
priorities in the final systems simulation.

## Suggested uses

- First-year seminar supplement
- New-student orientation module
- Business-school introductory unit
- Student-success/advising resource
- Library or financial-wellness workshop series

## Facilitation questions

- What is one tradeoff (not a universal answer) this episode/quest presented?
- Whose circumstances might make a different choice the more reasonable one here?
- What would you want to verify with a professional or an official source before acting on this in real life?

## Accessibility

See `docs/ACCESSIBILITY.md`. The course supports full keyboard navigation, screen readers, reduced motion, and
a non-visual list alternative to the story/quest maps.

## Source-review process

See `docs/SOURCE_POLICY.md` and `docs/SOURCE_REVIEW_CHECKLIST.md`.

## Limits of the simulation

All simulator variables (cash on hand, net worth, credit health, etc.) are simplified teaching constructs, not
a real financial-planning model. No setback is an irreversible dead end — every scenario includes a recovery
path.

## Non-advice disclaimer

This course is introductory financial education, not individualized financial, legal, accounting, investment,
insurance, or tax advice. See `disclaimer.html`.

## Reporting errors

File a "Curriculum Review," "Source Correction," or "Accessibility Review" issue using the templates in
`.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/`.

## Discussing inequality and opportunity without shaming students

Every substantial topic in this course explicitly names structural factors (income, wealth, opportunity,
health, disability, caregiving, discrimination, geography, luck, economic conditions, family responsibilities)
alongside individual decisions. When facilitating discussion, avoid "just budget better" framing — pair any
individual-choice discussion with acknowledgment of what a choice does and does not control.

## Distinguishing education from product promotion

This course contains no affiliate links, product placement, investment recommendations, or sponsored financial
products. If a guest speaker or supplementary material is added to a pilot section, ensure the same standard
applies — instruction on how systems work, never a pitch for a specific product or institution.

## Pilot feedback questions

1. Did students report the pacing (four acts / four tiers) worked for a semester-long or shorter timeline?
2. Which episodes or quests generated the most classroom discussion?
3. Did any source link need correction?
4. Did the accessibility features meet the needs of your students?
5. Would your unit want deeper coordination with Angelo State University on a future, official version?