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Factors affecting academic performance and satisfaction among

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							        Jahnavi Sunderarajan
Department of Experimental Psychology

                Supervisors
          Dr. Kit Pleydell-Pearce
            Dr. Clive Frankish
 “University is the main and almost the only opportunity
remaining in this modern, sick and evil society for people
to connect and make friends and find partners. After
university you have just enough time to rest and be
capable of continuing to be able to work and barely
enough time to even find a partner.

    Your time at university is one of the last islands of
humanity. Students should be making the most of this
opportunity to socialise and develop relationships with a
sense of urgency because there will be nothing like it for
the rest of their lives and we have only three years. Plenty
of happy, secure social bonding is an absolutely necessary
foundation before any academic progress is possible”.

- Bristol University Undergraduate
   Qualitative research to identify factors that
    influence academic performance

   Design and development of a questionnaire

   Analysis of pre-existing University data sets
Initial analyses of student and academic
                              attitudes...
      Factor           Percentage of students   Percentage of lecturers
                               (n=47)                   (n=74)

   Tutor support               80.8%                      0%

  Teaching quality              0%                       31.1%

  Amount of work               29.78%                     0%

Coping with pressure           25.53%                     0%

     Social life               44.68%                     0%

   Alcohol/drugs               27.65%                    1.4%

      Finance                  31.91%                    12.2%

       Living                  23.4%                     1.4%

   Mental health               34.04%                    14.9%

  Physical health              57.44%                    14.9%

    Intelligence               6.38%                     58.1%

     Motivation                27.66%                    29.7%

     Hard work                 12.77%                    35.1%
   Social support (22)
   Academic support (49)
   Career aspirations (12)
   Finances (5)
   Health (2)
   Learning styles (10)
   Organisation (3)
   Adaptation (6)
   Motivation (15)
   Good teaching quality
   Anxiety to meet academic demands
   Tutor support
   Pressure to perform
   Confidence
   Positive social life
   Organisation
   Motivation
   Academic overload
   Feedback and guidance
    Factor          Males    Females    t-value   Significance
                   (n=241)   (n=432)   (df=671)

 Anxiety to         3.28      3.62      6.79      p<0.0001
meet academic
  demands
   Positive         3.71      4.09       6.6      p<0.0001
perception of
 Blackboard
 Anxiety and        3.43      3.78      5.71      p<0.0001
need for family
   support
Homesickness        2.14      2.61      5.53      p<0.0001


 IT difficulties    4.54      4.22      4.79      p<0.0001
    Factor         Males    Females    t-value   Significance
                  (n=241)   (n=432)   (df=671)

 Organisation      2.89      3.18      3.67       p<0.001


Study methods:     3.98       3.7      3.43       p<0.001
Close attention
 to past exams
Extra reading       3.1      3.36      3.29        p<0.01
 to improve
understanding
 Motivation to     3.92      4.04      2.47        p<0.05
   do well

Non-academic       4.42      4.29      2.36        p<0.05
  interests
     Factor          Males (n=241)   Females (n=432)
 Good teaching           3.34             3.34
    quality

Desire for smaller       3.23             3.23
 group tutorials

Lack of feedback         3.29             3.28
  and guidance

Academic overload        2.79             2.81
 Alcohol coping          2.54             2.49
       F actor          Independent   Comprehensive    t-value   Significance
                          (n=166)       (n=204)       (df=368)



Reason for coming to
  university – peer
 conformity and not
                           2.58           2.29         2.91        p<0.01
 wanting to take up a
job immediately after
       school
Anxiety and need for       3.53           3.72         2.26        p<0.05
  family support

  Promotion of life        3.49           3.65         1.99        p<0.05
       skills
        Factor           Younger   Mature    t-value   Significance
                         (n=624)   (n=49)   (df=671)
  Positive social life    3.95      3.41     4.75      p<0.0001
  Clear career plans      3.49      4.06     3.68       p<0.001

Reasons for coming to     2.43      1.91     3.64       p<0.001
  university – peer
     conformity

   Extra reading to       3.23      3.67     3.04        p<0.01
improve understanding
 Anxiety and need for     3.68      3.38     2.49        p<0.05
   family support
   “As a mature student who previously left school
    at 14, I believe I am considerably more
    determined than many of my fellow students to
    succeed academically”.
   “Doing second degree so this degree aged 24-29
    so very different experience e.g. in first degree
    fully involved in drinking socially and
    extracurricular activities, living with friends etc.
    but this degree more like working especially as
    medicine is on placement rather than lectures.
    Gap years should be mandatory”!
Factor                  Aim for a first   Aim for a 2:1   t-value    Significance
                        (n=312)           (n=281)         (df=591)
Motivation to do well   4.21              3.83            8.18       p<0.0001

Pressure to perform     4.28              3.97            6.69       p<0.0001

Tutor support           3.3               3.04            3.72       p<0.001

Clear career plans      3.62              3.33            3.38       p<0.001

Academic overload       2.69              2.88            3.18       p<0.01

Perceived academic      3.78              3.62            2.81       p<0.01
support outside
lectures
Organisation            3.17              2.96            2.68       p<0.01
Pre-existing University of Bristol data
      Department              Males         Females
  English (BA) (n=202)     65.2 (n=45)    64.7 (n=157)

Philosophy (BA) (n=88)     63.5 (n=46)    62.1 (n=42)
Accounting and Finance     57.9 (n=43)    61.1 (n=33)
     (BSC) (n=76)
Economics (BSC) (n=150)    60.3 (n=94)    61.1 (n=46)
   Sociology (n=111)       60.5 (n=27)    61.3 (n=84)
 Biochemistry (n=95)       59.5 (n=40)    63.1 (n=55)
 Biology (BSC) (n=188)     61.4 (n=75)    63.7 (n=113)
Chemistry (MSCI) (n=61)    64.6 (n=43)    68.2 (n=18)
  Physics (BSC) (n=78)     60.1 (n=63)    63.6 (n=15)
Aeronautical Engineering   62.1 (n=123)   63.6 (n=19)
    (MENG) (n=142)
Civil Engineering (MENG)   61.7 (n=94)    64.1 (n=20)
         (n=114)
Mechanical Engineering     61.8 (n=121)   64.1 (n=13)
   (MENG) (n=134)
   Mean global mark for males (n=2302) –
    62.2%

   Mean global mark for females (n=2406) –
    62.8%

   Females perform better than males (p<0.05)

   Supports findings of Naylor and Smith (2004)
Department      Mean A-level   Mean A-level   Global mark   Global mark
                (Indep.)       (Comp.)        (Indep.)      (Comp.)

History (BA)    117.3          111.8          63.6 (n=65)   63.2 (n=78)
English (BA)    118.6          116.9          64.7 (n=80)   64.8 (n=42)
Philosophy (BA) 112.6          111.3          61.8 (n=36)   63.4 (n=17)
Archaeology     101.3          95.9           62.5 (n=10)   63.9 (n=22)
(BA)
Aeronautical    114.7          112.8          61.8 (n=49)   62.2 (n=34)
Engineering
(MENG)
Mechanical      112.1          111.4          61.1 (n=66)   63.6 (n=36)
Engineering
(MENG)
Computer        113.7          109.6          63.6 (n=16)   62.7 (n=23)
science (BSC)
Department        Mean A-level   Mean A-level   Global mark   Global mark
                  (Indep.)       (Comp.)        (Indep.)      (Comp.)

Mathematics       113.7          112.9          60.2 (n=31)   60.8 (n=71)
(BSC)
Psychology        114.8          112.5          65.1 (n=69)   65.6 (n=68)
(BSC)
Zoology (BSC)     108.1          108.9          61.1 (n=42)   63.3 (n=40)
Biology (BSC)     112.4          111.4          61.9 (n=85)   63.6 (n=44)
Sociology (BSC)   104.7          105.7          60 (n=50)     61.9 (n=26)
Economics         115.2          113.9          59.8 (n=48)   61.8 (n=30)
(BSC)
Law (LLB)         114.7          114.8          58.9 (n=87)   59.5 (n=127)
 112                                   62.8

111.5
                                       62.6
 111

110.5                                  62.4

 110
                                       62.2
109.5
           111.4                        62                 62.6
 109

108.5                                  61.8

 108
                           108.7              61.9
                                       61.6
107.5

 107                                   61.4

        A-LEVEL INDEP   A-LEVEL COMP          INDEP        COMP




        p<0.001                                   p<0.01
   Tracking students

   Qualitative analysis

   Further retrospective analysis
                                              Academic Risk and
  Demographic Data      National Student           Potential
  (Current N=6500)        Survey Data           Questionnaire
                                               (Current N=673)




                            Academic
                        Performance and
                       Student Satisfaction



                                                   Open Ended
Focus Group Analysis                             Questionnaires to
                       Previous Literature
 applied to students                          Students and Academic
                          and Research
 and academic staff                                    Staff
                                                 (Current N=121)