THE LEVEL OF FINANCIAL LITERACY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE NEED FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Abstract The prime purpose of this research was to determine the level of financial knowledge, behavior and attitude of the target population – first year students of one state university. A standardized questionnaire, developed by the International Network in Financial Education for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was adapted for this study. Using the questionnaire, the level of financial knowledge, behavior and attitude of the target respondents was measured. The findings revealed that majority of the students have average level of financial knowledge, financial behavior and financial attitude. It was also found out on this study financial knowledge, behavior and attitude are related with one another using correlation analysis. Analyses of the data gathered led the researchers to develop training modules with the purpose of improving the overall financial literacy of the students. Keywords: financial literacy, financial knowledge, financial behavior, financial attitude, micro business