Assessment of Post-Secondary Institutions' Preparedness to Deal with Student Withdrawal Due to Financial Hardship

With the growing demand for skilled workers in the labor market who possess high academic capabilities, it is not surprising that the presence of undergraduate graduates is required in almost every industry and corner of Indonesia. However, a major issue is the lack of financial strength among young Indonesians to complete their undergraduate studies. Therefore, President Joko Widodo recently requested that the Indonesian government review the student loan program to address this issue. This study aims to reveal Indonesian students' perceptions of the student loan program. Despite the impact of the pandemic, many students in Indonesia have difficulty completing their studies due to financial difficulties. This study uses a mixed method exploratory sequential approach. The results of this study indicate that satisfaction with the chosen university and financial anxiety encourage students to take out student loans if available. Another surprising finding in this study is that financial literacy does not influence students to take out student loans. This finding is contrary to previous research. Financial distress is a valuable finding in this research, and this variable explains why many students are in the dilemma of student loan perceptions. The implication that we found is that the stakeholders who administer student loans must pay attention to being trustworthy and open to the student loan program if they want to be made a national-scale policy. Another finding of the study was that many students in Indonesia have no faith in the concept of student loans.