Date

5-13-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This paper will explore the responsiveness Bridgewater State University (BSU) students have to the implementation of a personal finance course as part of a graduation requirement for every student. The National Financial Capability Study showed that most young people, 18-34 years old, scored the lowest in a basic financial literacy test. The aim of this paper is to analyze where BSU students stand on financial education while gauging how open students are to take personal finance courses offered on campus. In order to do so; the paper will analyze the students’ financial knowledge, attitudes and other influences to grasp what has shaped students’ established financial education and their current perception of personal finance. To reach these goals, data will be gathered using a 45 question instrument from 500 BSU students. The students will be asked to fill out a survey from the popular website surveymonkey.com. A snowball sample will be used to gather more information as more students fill out the surveys. The expected findings will be that BSU students have the same level of financial literacy as other young people from national surveys. Students are aware of the many current financial issues and would welcome more personal finances courses offered on campus even as a graduation requirement. Another expected finding is that most students may not have received formal financial education programs throughout their lives except for the ones they have sought out or the ones they had learned at home. As a result, the study’s aim will be achieved by proving a strong openness to more financial literacy programs on campus to counter the limited level of financial literacy students may have.

Department

Sociology

Thesis Comittee

Jodi Cohen (Thesis Director)

Kim MacInnis

Walter Carroll

Copyright and Permissions

Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.

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