University of Zambia: Factors Affecting Students Academic Performance
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTIONIn most Universities the world over today, the academic performance of students has recently come under scrutiny for a number of reasons. For instance, a number of studies have been carried out to identify causal factors of poor academic performance in a number of institutions worldwide. Interestingly, most of these studies focused on the three elements that intervene. Such included, parents (family causal factors), teachers (academic causal factors), and students (personal causal factors) (Diaz, 2003). However, this study investigated the main factors that affect students’ academic performance at The University of Zambia main campus.
Broadly speaking, factors influencing academic performance of students vary from one academic environment to another, from one set of students to the next, and indeed from one cultural setting to another. It however appears that students have worked hard but their input has not been positively correlated to their output. Indeed, this has been revealed in a report from UWI’s Office of Planning and Development (2011), where 20% of all undergraduate courses offered at UWI, St. Augustine recorded high failure rates. This increases the cost of training graduates as well as reducing admission opportunities for high school students seeking a University education. Furthermore, the low pass rates impose a huge cost to the communities in terms of the low number of students graduating and the reduced intake of potential students due to shortage of spaces caused by low throughput. Therefore, in order to ensure that a larger proportion of the labor force is highly trained, most Universities including The University of Zambia must put in place measures that will ensure high completion rates. In the case of The University of Zambia main campus, the failure and dropout rates are higher in such schools like School of Law, School of Engineering and School of Veterinary Medicine, among others.
However, in cases
1.0 INTRODUCTIONIn most Universities the world over today, the academic performance of students has recently come under scrutiny for a number of reasons. For instance, a number of studies have been carried out to identify causal factors of poor academic performance in a number of institutions worldwide. Interestingly, most of these studies focused on the three elements that intervene. Such included, parents (family causal factors), teachers (academic causal factors), and students (personal causal factors) (Diaz, 2003). However, this study investigated the main factors that affect students’ academic performance at The University of Zambia main campus.
Broadly speaking, factors influencing academic performance of students vary from one academic environment to another, from one set of students to the next, and indeed from one cultural setting to another. It however appears that students have worked hard but their input has not been positively correlated to their output. Indeed, this has been revealed in a report from UWI’s Office of Planning and Development (2011), where 20% of all undergraduate courses offered at UWI, St. Augustine recorded high failure rates. This increases the cost of training graduates as well as reducing admission opportunities for high school students seeking a University education. Furthermore, the low pass rates impose a huge cost to the communities in terms of the low number of students graduating and the reduced intake of potential students due to shortage of spaces caused by low throughput. Therefore, in order to ensure that a larger proportion of the labor force is highly trained, most Universities including The University of Zambia must put in place measures that will ensure high completion rates. In the case of The University of Zambia main campus, the failure and dropout rates are higher in such schools like School of Law, School of Engineering and School of Veterinary Medicine, among others.
However, in cases
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