Successful completion of a university degree is a complex matter. Based on considerations regarding the demands of acquiring a university degree, the aim of this paper was to investigate the utility of complex problem-solving (CPS) skills in the prediction of objective and subjective university success (SUS). The key finding of this study was that…

With the adoption of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in educational institutions, a lot of data has become available describing students' online behavior. Many researchers have used these data to predict student performance. This has led to a rather diverse set of findings, possibly related to the diversity in courses and predictor variables…

Data mining is known to have a potential for predicting user performance. However, there are few studies that explore its potential for predicting student behavior in a procedural training environment. This paper presents a collective student model, which is built from past student logs. These logs are first grouped into clusters. Then, an…

Students routinely ignore negative feedback regarding their performances early in college science courses. In this study we analyzed the extent to which two standard forms of feedback, midterm and first-exam grades, correlated with final grades in several biology courses. The courses ranged from an introductory course for nonmajors to upper…

The purpose of this study was to assess the merit of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal as a pre-admission criterion in conjunction with the frequently utilized admission criteria of the college prerequisite grade point average and the National League of Nursing pre-admission test. Data were collected from 192 first-year nursing…

The use and validity of the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) to predict the success of graduate school applicants is heavily debated, especially for its possible impact on the selection of underrepresented minorities into science, technology, engineering, and math fields. To better identify candidates who would succeed in our program…

Ten years of College Student Inventory (CSI) data from one Midwestern public land-grant university were used to study the role of motivational factors in predicting academic success and college student retention. Academic success was defined as cumulative grade point average (GPA), cumulative course load capacity (i.e., the number of credits…

Predicting the future is now in the hands of K12 administrators. While for years districts have collected thousands of pieces of student data, educators have been using them only for data-driven decision-making or formative assessments, which give a "rear-view" perspective only. Now, using predictive analysis--the pulling together of data over…

Schools across America are being ranked for their effectiveness on a number of student criteria, among them preparation of students for a successful college experience. This study investigates the relationship between graduating seniors, their successful first year retention in college and several personal and school related factors. The study…

First-year students are still failing at an alarming rate. This is an international issue that universities face and there is currently no clear indication of the cause of the problem as universities move from being elite to providing mass education. This article examines the possible correlation between students' high school performance and…

This article examines the use of institutional research data on tertiary academic success of students in the first-year Biology program at the University of Canterbury in relation to their secondary school performance in English, Mathematics with Statistics, Biology and Chemistry. This study was commissioned by the School of Biological Sciences to…

Building on Shulruf, Hattie and Tumen (2008), this work examines the capacity of various National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA)-derived models to predict first-year performance in Biological Sciences at a New Zealand university. We compared three models: (1) the "best-80" indicator as used by several New Zealand…

This paper presents the results of an analysis of indicators that can be used to predict whether a student will succeed in a Computer Science Ph.D. program. The analysis was conducted by studying the records of 75 students who have been in the Computer Science Ph.D. program of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Seventy-seven variables were…

A hypothetical model was formulated to explore factors that influenced academic and clinical achievement for graduate-entry medical students completing their third year of university studies. Nine latent variables were considered including the students' background, previous successes with their undergraduate and postgraduate studies and their…

Validity data (prediction of first-year grade point average) for colleges participating in the Admissions Testing Program Validity Study Service (VSS) and based on students entering college in 1964 through 1974 are summarized for the following predictors: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)--verbal score, SAT--mathematical score, high school record,…