Assessing the Impact of a Personal Finance Elective Course on Student Attitudes and Intentions

Objective. To address the need for personal finance education in our school of pharmacy, a finance elective was developed to help students make well-informed choices related to student loan repayment, budgeting, and planning for retirement. Personal finance education could be beneficial to help students improve their future financial well-being.Methods. A mixed-methods research design was used to determine the impact of the course. Retrospective data were collected and analyzed. Data included pre- and post-assessments, assignments, posts from discussion boards, and a follow-up questionnaire. Qualitative data were analyzed through in vivo coding, and quantitative data were analyzed using dependent t tests.Results. Qualitative analysis revealed two themes: students came to feel that personal finance was something that could be managed proactively, and they felt empowered to create a financial plan that included strategies for budgeting, paying off student loans and other debt, saving, and investing. Quantitative analysis of five of the 10 assessment questions with matching counterparts in the pre- and post-assessment showed significant differences. Most students who responded to the follow-up questionnaire had completed activities or planned to complete activities related to making changes to their personal finance habits.Conclusion. Pharmacy students are entering the workforce with high incomes but saddled with debt. A personal finance elective course has the potential to equip students with the knowledge needed to be financially successful. Schools of pharmacy should work toward offering professional development to students to assist them in learning about personal finance due to the high cost of obtaining a pharmacy degree and likelihood of entering the workforce with debt.