Analyzing How Students Finance College Education: A Case Study of Students at Usiu-Africa

A Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The general objective of this study was to determine how students finance their college education with a focus on students at USIU-Africa. The study sought to analyse how students finance their college education due to the few scholars who have concetrated to the area like Conway (1998); DeBard (2003); Ebony (2007) and Zhan (2014). The study was guided by the specific objectives which included; to determine the sources of funds for students in financing their college education; to establish what drives students to various forms of financing their education; to identify the challenges students face in the method of choice they choose for financing their education and to evaluate the measures that can be taken by students to improve their financial situation. Descriptive research design was used in this study and the research targeted a population of 5,871 students at USIU-Africa to take part in the research. Primary and secondary sources of data were used in this study where primary sources of data were collected by use of questionnaires that were administered to the students at USIU-Africa. Secondary data was collected from books, electronic journals and the internet. The data collected using questionnaires was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and descriptive statistics such as mean, frequencies and percentages and inferential statistics such as regression and correlation analysis was generated. These findings were described and presented in tables and figures. The findings of the study also revealed that majority of the respondents agreed that their income/Salary is inadequate, college education is quite expensive, they do not get employee education benefits where they work, they don’t know how to manage their personal finances, their family has a poor financial background, they do not want to incur debt as a result of their education, looking for instant cash to clear their fees. The finding of the study also revealed that students face various challenges while financing college education including Unstable finances due to lack of a stable income, lack of permanent job, high inflation and interest rates, little knowledge on how to manage finances, lack of security/Collateral to attach to an application to seek a loan from the bank for my education. Majority of the respondents agree that unemployment limits the sources of financing, employment opens an avenue for financing college education for Students, the government needs to offer tax incentives to Students to assist them in paying their tuition fees, investment is a brilliant way of saving for college tuition fees, financial Literacy educates on saving, investing prioritizing needs and wants which can help Students plan how to cater for their college fees. The study concludes that majority of the students agree that their source of financing does not only come from financial aid from the institution but others sources like; loans, personal savings, benefits from the employer, friends and family contribution, proceeds from investment, constituency development fund, county bursaries and non-governmental organizations. Majority of the respondents also agreed that their income/Salary is inadequate and college education is quite expensive. The study further concluded that students face various challenges while financing their college education including unstable finances, lack of permanent job, high inflation and interest rates, little knowledge on how to manage finances and lack of security/Collateral to attach to an application to seek a loan from the bank for their education. The study recommends that institutions should continue providing funding for students because Institutions play an important role in ensuring that students stay in school. The study further recommends the need for university to consider reducing the cost of education so as enable students to finance their education. The government coming up with strategies that will aid students deal with the challenges facing them when it comes to financing their education is also recommended in this study. The study also recommends the need for students to make use of the available opportunities that are available to them when it comes to financing their education. There is also need for financial literacy to be instilled in college students and also at the workplace among employees making financial literacy a key strategy to help students improve their financial situations