Using Business Intelligence in College Admissions

Higher education often lags behind industry in the adoption of new or emerging technologies. As competition increases among colleges and universities for a diminishing supply of prospective students, the need to adopt the principles of business intelligence becomes increasingly more important. Data from first-year enrolling students for the 2006-2008 fall terms at a private, master’s-level institution in the northeastern United States was analyzed for the purpose of developing predictive models. A decision tree analysis, a neural network analysis, and a multiple regression analysis were conducted to predict each student’s grade point average (GPA) at the end of the first year of academic study. Numerous geodemographic variables were analyzed to develop the models to predict the target variable. The overall performance of the models developed in the analysis was evaluated by using the average square error (ASE). The three models had similar ASE values, which indicated that any of the models could be used for the intended purpose. Suggestions for future analysis include expansion of the scope of the study to include more student-centric variables and to evaluate GPA at other student levels.

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Candidates for the First Year of Studies at the University Level Institution of Physical Education and Their Physical Activity

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity ◽

10.2478/v10131-011-0019-z ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Alicja Nowak-Zaleska

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Physical Education ◽

First Year ◽

University Level ◽

Level Institution ◽

The University

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The Influence of Curricular-based Interventions within First-year "Success" Courses on Student Alcohol Expectancies and Engagement in High-risk Drinking Behaviors

NASPA Journal ◽

10.2202/0027-6014.1907 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Matt J Mayhew ◽

Rebecca J Caldwell ◽

Aimee Hourigan

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Alcohol Expectancies ◽

First Year ◽

Alcohol Intervention ◽

Grade Point ◽

Student Affairs Practitioners ◽

Drinking Behaviors ◽

High Risk Drinking ◽

Success Courses ◽

First Year Success

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of curricular-based interventions housed within first-year success courses on alcohol expectancies and high-risk drinking behaviors. Specifically, we longitudinally assessed 173 students enrolled in one of ten first-year success courses, including five that received the alcohol intervention and five that did not. We then created a series of models accounting for demographic information (i.e., gender and self-reported expected grade point average), the pretest scores for the six outcome measures, and the intervention effect (i.e., whether students received the intervention or not). ANCOVA results showed that the intervention was effective in reducing high-risk drinking behaviors and alcohol expectancies for students enrolled in the success courses that received the intervention. Implications for student affairs practitioners and higher education scholars are discussed.

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Introductory anatomy and physiology in an undergraduate nursing curriculum

AJP Advances in Physiology Education ◽

10.1152/advan.00112.2016 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 56-61 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S.J. Brown ◽

S. White ◽

N. Power

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Human Anatomy ◽

High Achievers ◽

First Year ◽

Grade Point ◽

Anatomy And Physiology ◽

Undergraduate Nursing ◽

Human Anatomy And Physiology ◽

High Achieving

Using an educational data mining approach, first-year academic achievement of undergraduate nursing students, which included two compulsory courses in introductory human anatomy and physiology, was compared with achievement in a final semester course that transitioned students into the workplace. We hypothesized that students could be grouped according to their first-year academic achievement using a two-step cluster analysis method and that grades achieved in the human anatomy and physiology courses would be strong predictors of overall achievement. One cohort that graduated in 2014 ( n = 105) and one that graduated in 2015 ( n = 94) were analyzed separately, and for both cohorts, two groups were identified, these being “high achievers” (HIGH) and “low achievers” (LOW). Consistently, the anatomy and physiology courses were the strongest predictors of group assignment, such that a good grade in these was much more likely to put a student into a high-achieving group. Students in the HIGH groups also scored higher in the Transition to Nursing course when compared with students in the LOW groups. The higher predictor importance of the anatomy and physiology courses suggested that if a first-year grade-point average was calculated for students, an increased weighting should be attributed to these courses. Identifying high-achieving students based on first-year academic scores may be a useful method to predict future academic performance.

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Japan: The "Haves" are Gaining and the "Have-Nots" are Losing

International Higher Education ◽

10.6017/ihe.2009.57.8455 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Yoshiaki Obara

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Higher Education Institutions ◽

Private Higher Education ◽

First Year ◽

Prospective Students ◽

Risk Of Falling ◽

First Year Students ◽

Rural Colleges ◽

Negative Cycle ◽

Rural Institutions

Many Japanese private higher education institutions also face a risk of falling into the "losing group." It seems that small/rural colleges end up receiving less extra income from admissions over the tei-in (the quota for first-year students) level. This loss creates less scholarship money for capable students. The small/rural institutions are likely to lose prospective students as a negative cycle works against them. This tendency, in turn, augments the opportunities available to large, metropolitan higher education institutions. In Japan, a clear division is anticipated, with the larger institutions getting much larger and the smaller and rural ones getting much smaller. This is a hard fact that we will face in the foreseeable future.

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Getting College Students Back on Track

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.1177/1521025116670208 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 350-368

Author(s):

Corinne M. Kodama ◽

Cheon-Woo Han ◽

Tom Moss ◽

Brittany Myers ◽

Susan P. Farruggia

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Academic Preparation ◽

First Year ◽

College Graduation ◽

Program Participation ◽

Summer Bridge ◽

Grade Point ◽

College Life ◽

First Year College ◽

First Year College Students

The present study examines the outcomes of a 5-week summer bridge writing program at a Midwestern, urban, public university designed to provide remedial instruction for incoming first-year college students, approximately 500 students annually for 7 years. Regression results showed that program participation was a positive, significant predictor on the outcomes of 6- and 4-year graduation, first-year earned credits, and first-year college grade point average, even after controlling for demographic and academic preparation variables. The combination of academic preparation and an introduction to the college experience helped to prepare students for college success. This institutionally funded program shows promise in addressing the remediation needs of students and preparing them for success in credit-bearing courses as well as college life in general, getting them on track for timely college graduation.

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Academic Achievement and Demographics of International Undergraduates

Exploring the Social and Academic Experiences of International Students in Higher Education Institutions - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-9749-2.ch013 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 233-259

Author(s):

Dulce Amor L. Dorado ◽

Barry Fass-Holmes

Keyword(s):

Academic Achievement ◽

Community College ◽

West Coast ◽

Native Language ◽

Public University ◽

Grade Point Averages ◽

First Year ◽

Grade Point ◽

Academic Standing ◽

First Time

Are international undergraduates whose native language is not English less prepared to succeed academically at an American four-year institution after transferring from an American community college than ones who are first-time freshmen (NFRS) or exchange visitors (EAPR)? This question's answer was no at an American West Coast public university where five cohorts of international transfer undergraduates (TRAN) earned mean first-year grade point averages (GPA) between B- and B. Less than 12% of these students earned GPAs below C, and less than 15% were in bad academic standing (probation, subject to disqualification, or dismissed). In comparison, five parallel cohorts of NFRS and EAPR earned mean first-year GPAs averaging between B and B+ to A-. Less than 10% earned GPAs below C or were in bad academic standing. Thus, a minority of this university's international undergraduates struggled academically regardless of whether they were TRAN, NFRS, or EAPR.

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Reducing Gaps in First-Year Outcomes Between Hispanic First-Generation College Students and Their Peers: The Role of Accelerated Learning and Financial Aid

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.1177/1521025118768055 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 441-463

Author(s):

Christian A. Latino ◽

Gabriela Stegmann ◽

Justine Radunzel ◽

Jason D. Way ◽

Edgar Sanchez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Financial Aid ◽

First Generation ◽

First Generation College Students ◽

Achievement Gaps ◽

Accelerated Learning ◽

Retention Rates ◽

First Year ◽

Grade Point ◽

First Generation College

Hispanic students are the most likely out of all racial or ethnic groups to be first-generation college students (FGCS). Hispanic FGCS have been shown to be the least likely to persist out of all racial or ethnic backgrounds. However, there is little literature on this population. To address this, the present study investigated the association of accelerated learning in high school (e.g., Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment) and financial aid on academic outcomes for Hispanic FGCS and Hispanic non-FGCS at a 4-year postsecondary institution ( n = 2,499). Hispanic FGCS fared worse in first-year grade point average (GPA) and first- to second-year retention than Hispanic non-FGCS. After controlling for academic, nonacademic, and demographic variables, results suggested that accelerated learning reduced achievement gaps in first-year GPA and financial aid reduced achievement gaps in retention rates for Hispanic FGCS. These results suggest that environmental supports (i.e., accelerated learning and financial aid) may be able to improve GPA and retention for Hispanic FGCS.

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A Social-Belonging Intervention Benefits Higher Weight Students’ Weight Stability and Academic Achievement

Social Psychological and Personality Science ◽

10.1177/1948550620959236 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 194855062095923

Author(s):

Christine Logel ◽

Joel M. Le Forestier ◽

Eben B. Witherspoon ◽

Omid Fotuhi

Keyword(s):

College Transition ◽

Well Being ◽

Grade Point Averages ◽

First Year ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Healthy Weight ◽

Intervention Trial ◽

Grade Point ◽

Social Belonging ◽

Weight Stability

Psychological interventions can narrow college achievement gaps between students from nonstigmatized and stigmatized groups. However, no intervention we know of has investigated effects for one highly stigmatized group: people of higher bodyweights. We analyzed data from a prematriculation social-belonging intervention trial at 22 colleges, which conveyed that adversity in the college transition is normative, temporary, and nondiagnostic of lack of belonging. Nine months postintervention, higher weight participants in a standard belonging treatment had higher first-year grade point averages (GPAs) than controls and maintained more stable weights, an indicator of physical well-being. Effects of a belonging treatment customized to specific colleges were directionally similar but nonsignificant. Exploratory analyses revealed that effects did not differ by race and that weight effects were driven by women. Together, results show that higher weight students contend with belonging concerns that contribute to a weight gap in GPA, but belonging interventions can raise GPA and promote healthy weight stability.

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Modeling of student academic achievement in engineering education using cognitive and non-cognitive factors

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-10-2017-0120 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 178-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽

A.M. Hamouda ◽

Galal M. Abdella

Keyword(s):

Student Success ◽

Student Performance ◽

Success Factors ◽

Comprehensive Approach ◽

First Year ◽

Valuable Insight ◽

Data Set ◽

Grade Point ◽

Content Type ◽

Second Year

Purpose The retention and success of engineering undergraduates are increasing concern for higher-education institutions. The study of success determinants are initial steps in any remedial initiative targeted to enhance student success and prevent any immature withdrawals. This study provides a comprehensive approach toward the prediction of student academic performance through the lens of the knowledge, attitudes and behavioral skills (KAB) model. The purpose of this paper is to aim to improve the modeling accuracy of students’ performance by introducing two methodologies based on variable selection and dimensionality reduction. Design/methodology/approach The performance of the proposed methodologies was evaluated using a real data set of ten critical-to-success factors on both attitude and skill-related behaviors of 320 first-year students. The study used two models. In the first model, exploratory factor analysis is used. The second model uses regression model selection. Ridge regression is used as a second step in each model. The efficiency of each model is discussed in the Results section of this paper. Findings The two methods were powerful in providing small mean-squared errors and hence, in improving the prediction of student performance. The results show that the quality of both methods is sensitive to the size of the reduced model and to the magnitude of the penalization parameter. Research limitations/implications First, the survey could have been conducted in two parts; students needed more time than expected to complete it. Second, if the study is to be carried out for second-year students, grades of general engineering courses can be included in the model for better estimation of students’ grade point averages. Third, the study only applies to first-year and second-year students because factors covered are those that are essential for students’ survival through the first few years of study. Practical implications The study proposes that vulnerable students could be identified as early as possible in the academic year. These students could be encouraged to engage more in their learning process. Carrying out such measurement at the beginning of the college year can provide professional and college administration with valuable insight on students perception of their own skills and attitudes toward engineering. Originality/value This study employs the KAB model as a comprehensive approach to the study of success predictors. The implementation of two new methodologies to improve the prediction accuracy of student success.

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