What makes a successful undergraduate? The relationship between student characteristics, degree subject and academic success at university

Smith, Emma; White, Patrick

doi:10.1002/berj.3158

Cited by 31 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…[23], [24], [25], and [26]). Previous studies have found that Home students are associated with higher attainment than OS students ( [25], [23] and [24]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using data mining techniques to predict students at risk of poor performance

Alharbi

Cornford

Dolder

et al. 2016

2016 SAI Computing Conference (SAI)

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Abstract-The achievement of good honours in Undergraduate degrees is important in the context of Higher Education (HE), both for students and for the institutions that host them. In this paper, we look at whether data mining can be used to highlight performance problems early on and propose remedial actions. Furthermore, some of the methods may also form the basis for recommender systems that may guide students towards their module choices to increase their chances of a good outcome. We use data collected through the admission process and through the students' degrees. In this paper, we predict good honours outcomes based on data at admission and on the first year module results. To validate the proposed results, we evaluate data relating to students with different characteristics from different schools. The analysis is achieved by using historical data from the Data Warehouse of a specific University. The methods used, however, are fairly general and can be used in any HE institution. Our results highlight groups of students at considerable risk of obtaining poor outcomes. For example, using admissions and first year module performance data we can isolate groups for one of the studied schools in which only 24% of students achieve good honour degrees. Over 67% of all low achievers in the school can be identified within this group.

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“…[23], [24], [25], and [26]). Previous studies have found that Home students are associated with higher attainment than OS students ( [25], [23] and [24]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using data mining techniques to predict students at risk of poor performance

Alharbi

Cornford

Dolder

et al. 2016

2016 SAI Computing Conference (SAI)

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“…GPA achieved in high school has been consistently found to be a moderate positive predictor of tertiary academic success (Ackerman et al, 2013;Komarraju & Nadler, 2013;Smith & White, 2015). The findings of the meta analysis by Crisp et al (2014) also show similar results.…”

Section: High School Results and Admission Test Scoresmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Several factors related to tertiary academic success have been identified in studies including gender (Anderton et al, 2016), self efficacy (Trigwell, Ashwin, & Millan, 2013), high school success (Smith & White, 2015), and less use of internet (Mishra, Draus, Goreva, Leone, & Caputo, 2014). This review paper analyzes these factors within the ecological model presented by Dalton et al (2007).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large body of empirical evidence suggests women to be more academically successful than men generally (Anderton et al, 2016;Arshad, Zaidi, & Mahmood, 2015;Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012;Soria, Fransen, & Nackerud, 2013) and to be more A grade achievers than men (Smith & White, 2015). Smith (2016) used the data of 38,236 students taken from a British university's administrative records, who entered the university between 1998 and 2006, and found women to be more successful than men.…”

Section: Factors Of Tertiary Academic Success At Individual Level Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tertiary Academic Success: A Review of Factors in the Context of Ecological Model

Firdous¹,

Ali²

2017

J.educ.soc.sci

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Working in academic settings is an important area in community psychology and tertiary academia (education after high school) is of marked significance. Success in tertiary education is consequential for subsequent life and several factors are involved in it. The aim of this review paper was to analyze these factors within the context of Ecological Model of Dalton, Elias, and Wandersman (2007). In this model, environment has interconnected layers of proximal and distal systems which comprise five ecological levels of analysis: individuals, microsystem, organizations, localities and macrosystem. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to analyze the research work done on tertiary academic success factors in the years 2012-2016 at all ecological levels of analysis. Tertiary academic success in these studies has been measured in terms of GPA, grades, percentages, retention in course, completion of degree within time and academic success scales. Analysis of the factors of tertiary academic success at all community levels is needed to cut down attrition rates, improve student retention and help achieve good GPAs. This review highlights that the individual factors have been explored to a larger extent and factors related to other ecological levels are underexplored. The review contributes to field by enhancing the understanding of factors related to tertiary academic success. It may also assist educationists taking practical steps to help students achieve this success. Further theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

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“…For reasons of space discussion is limited to patterns across all subjects (an analysis of differences between subjects is presented elsewhere (Smith and White , 2014)). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can higher education compensate for society? Modelling the determinants of academic success at university

Smith

2015

British Journal of Sociology of Education

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This paper examines the role that social characteristics play in determining the academic success of students who begin university with roughly similar entry grades. The data used were drawn from the administrative records of over 38,000 UK-domiciled undergraduate students from one British university between 1998 and 2009. Results show that the characteristics of entrants have varied only slightly over this period and intake is still largely in favour of 'traditional' entrants: namely those from professional occupational backgrounds, the privately educated and those of traditional age. The relationship between background characteristics and eventual academic success also reflect patterns seen at earlier education stages. However, when prior attainment was taken into account, the link between degree outcome and many social characteristics does diminish -notably for students who were privately educated and who came from professional occupational groups. This suggests that once students have overcome barriers to admission; it is entry grades rather than social characteristics that may most strongly influence eventual academic success.2

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What makes a successful undergraduate? The relationship between student characteristics, degree subject and academic success at university

Cited by 31 publications

References 26 publications

Using data mining techniques to predict students at risk of poor performance

Using data mining techniques to predict students at risk of poor performance

Tertiary Academic Success: A Review of Factors in the Context of Ecological Model

Can higher education compensate for society? Modelling the determinants of academic success at university

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