Morehead State University
College students' financial literacy in a Eastern Kentucky regional university
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Sophomore
KY House District #
89
KY Senate District #
30
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Steve Chen; Christy Trent
Department
Business
Abstract
College students' financial literacy in a Eastern Kentucky regional university
Financial literacy is an essential knowledge for recent college graduates to be able to manage a stable job career and personal wealth. This study examined the financial literacy of 107 college students (56 males; 50 females) of a regional public university in Eastern Kentucky. The participants were randomly invited to complete a 22-item online financial literacy survey, which was created based on the work of Cude et al (2006). The survey contents included five demographic questions and 17 five-point Likert scale (1= strongly agree/ always, 5= strongly disagree/ never) for rating participants’ knowledge on topics related to investment, saving, credit, and budget. The data collection period lasted about one-and-a-half months between mid-October and early December, 2022. The authors were able to identified five factors covering the personal financial literacy: (1) understanding of investment, (2) understanding of financial risk and budgeting, (3) perceptions on saving and spending, (4) longing for saving and investing, and (5) motivation for learning financial literacy. The results showed females and individuals who had taken a finance course had a higher rating in understanding of investment, financial risk, and budgeting than those of males and who had not taken a course. Furthermore, those who had a financial literacy course before showed a greater score on the factor--perceptions on saving and spending. In conclusion, it is suggested that increasing the opportunity to attend financial literacy classes and mock experiences will help students build the foundation knowledge and confidence in utilizing effective finance skills.
College students' financial literacy in a Eastern Kentucky regional university
College students' financial literacy in a Eastern Kentucky regional university
Financial literacy is an essential knowledge for recent college graduates to be able to manage a stable job career and personal wealth. This study examined the financial literacy of 107 college students (56 males; 50 females) of a regional public university in Eastern Kentucky. The participants were randomly invited to complete a 22-item online financial literacy survey, which was created based on the work of Cude et al (2006). The survey contents included five demographic questions and 17 five-point Likert scale (1= strongly agree/ always, 5= strongly disagree/ never) for rating participants’ knowledge on topics related to investment, saving, credit, and budget. The data collection period lasted about one-and-a-half months between mid-October and early December, 2022. The authors were able to identified five factors covering the personal financial literacy: (1) understanding of investment, (2) understanding of financial risk and budgeting, (3) perceptions on saving and spending, (4) longing for saving and investing, and (5) motivation for learning financial literacy. The results showed females and individuals who had taken a finance course had a higher rating in understanding of investment, financial risk, and budgeting than those of males and who had not taken a course. Furthermore, those who had a financial literacy course before showed a greater score on the factor--perceptions on saving and spending. In conclusion, it is suggested that increasing the opportunity to attend financial literacy classes and mock experiences will help students build the foundation knowledge and confidence in utilizing effective finance skills.