An Online Finance-Based Self-Learning Tool: Comparative Study Between Business and Non-Business Students

This paper presents the findings of a comparative study of an online financial evaluation tool to augment the application of concepts related to financial project evaluations by undergraduate students, studying in both business and non-business disciplines. Financial literacy is necessary for students to make informed financial decisions regarding saving, investing and borrowing later in their lives. It is also observed that financial literacy program that are targeted on certain behaviors and populations can lead to smarter financial decisions (Miller et al., 2014). This online tool also allows involvement of faculty, regardless of any finance background, to embed bite-sized supplementary topics for students to self-learn at their own pace. While students from different discipline may have different approaches to learning, they are all faced with the inevitable online mode of learning together during this protracted COVID-19 environment. The objective of this paper is to share insights on the development of a complementary online tool to empower students for interdisciplinary exposure, in which three key questions are addressed, namely; (1) Identification of students’ overall interests on the online tool (2) Efficacy of current website and mobile application (which contains video clips, financial tools, and case studies, based on ‘finance-based pedagogies’) in acquiring finance knowledge, and (3) Seeking of students’ inputs on ways to improve the current online tool. Business students were recruited from Design Specialized Business cluster, whereas non-business students were recruited from Engineering and Health Social Science clusters, with both qualitative and quantitative data being collected. The evaluation of the three study objectives were carried out using three methodologies; Firstly, students’ interest was examined via the analysis of video viewership such as average percentage of length video watched and the most popular video watched on the online platform, followed by conducting a qualitative survey on the different aspects of the online platform (for example, the student engagement, intuitiveness, intellectual challenge). Secondly, the efficacy of the online self-learning platform was determined through a quantitative survey of pre and post quizzes to identify student’s current and acquired finance knowledge. Subsequently, paired t-test were conducted to determine the significant difference between pre and post quizzes. Thirdly, a qualitative analysis was performed to collate students’ inputs on ways to improve the current online platform through the use of qualitative data gathered from an online survey conducted after the post-quiz. While the data collection for business students is in progress, the findings from non-business students indicate; (1) the students do not always complete viewing the videos and on average watch more than ~78% of the videos, which essentially facilitates them to capture the essence of the videos, (2) Based on the paired t-test, there are significant differences (all p <0.001) between the pre- and post-quiz scores which demonstrated significant improvement in learning, and (3) ~71.9% of the students stated that they were satisfied with online financial tool. More than 71% of students found the online financial tool to be easy to follow and understand. Students also suggested for more exercises and practice questions to further enhance the learning. With the online financial evaluation tool, non-business students were able to enhance their group project work and have shown strong interest in this online financial evaluation tool as evident from the video viewership. With the increased usage of online tools for teaching, together with the harmonization of the undergraduate programme structure within SIT, this endeavor will better prepare our graduates to be well-rounded for the working world. The findings from this study has enhanced our understanding of how students from different disciplines conduct self-learning, hence, potentially improving the consistency and effectiveness of education delivery across all programmes.