Background Factors Contributing to Performance of Master Course Students - Case Study of Civil Engineering Master Programme

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of the postgraduate students from various backgrounds on the basis of the following criteria: country, achievements during undergraduate study, English language requirement and previous work experience. The Civil Engineering Master Programme was taken as a case study. A data set sourced from students’ application forms and academic record for three consecutive session intakes, 2008/2009, 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, was used. As a measure of the students’ performance, Graduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (GCGPA) was considered as the key performance index. The students from Malaysia (28%), Iran (53%) and Iraq (19%) were chosen since their community represents the largest number of students. The mean achievement of all students from Malaysia, Iran and Iraq was comparable (mean GCGPA 3.52– 3.60). The largest number of candidates (43.5%) who came into the programme were students with higher than 2.70 but lower than 3.00 of Undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (UCGPA). The decision to continue the master study was most popular to those after 1–4 years of graduation. The extent to which UCGPA contributes towards GCGPA, Malaysian students show a weak relationship but has the strongest correlation than the rest (r=0.331, p<0.05). For Iranian students, work experience becomes very significant (r=0.416, p<0.05). The results also indicate that English proficiency affects students performance. It is indicated that correlation between work experience and GCGPA differs for students with and without TOEFL/IELTS scores. It is hoped that the results of this work can help in a more detailed study for determining the entry requirements for students seeking admission to the master course programmes.