Academic Performance and Student Satisfaction of Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Biliran Province State University

Academic Performance and Student Satisfaction of Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Biliran Province State University

Annel Ruth D. Celis¹, Analiza B. Calles²

^1,2Economics Department, School of Arts and Sciences, BiPSU – Naval Campus

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9010348

Received: 16 January 2025; Accepted: 20 January 2025; Published: 21 February 2025

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the relationship between student satisfaction and academic performance in BA Economics at Biliran Province State University – Naval Campus. The degree program has enrolled students in the second semester, SY 2020-2021 of 206. Based on the total enrollment, 135 were sampled from the first to third-year college level. It utilized an online survey questionnaire. Based on the survey result, the majority of the respondents were third-year college, females with cisgender identity, with an average or middle-performing General Weighted Average, and not working students yet with poor income classification. Overall, the students are very satisfied with the accessibility of educational services, faculty and staff, school facilities, educational environment, curriculum program, and academic performance. In addition, there is a strong positive relationship between student satisfaction and academic performance in BA Economics. The study recommends improving school facilities and hiring more faculty members to further increase the satisfaction level of students.

Keywords: Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Student Satisfaction, Academic Performance, Biliran Province State University

INTRODUCTION

There have been many studies about student satisfaction and academic performance in a university. However, the studies directly helped and guided curriculum programs to understand and enhance the services and learning attained for quality education. Scholars have stated that public higher education institutions must be accountable for producing reports not only on retention and graduation but on academic performance and student satisfaction as well (Tessema, Ready, & Astani, 2014; Cao Dinh, Nguyen, Nguyen, Ngo, & Nguyen, 2022). It means that assessing student satisfaction and academic performance in a university is accountable to the state institutions. Current studies have also signified a robust statistical relationship between student satisfaction and academic performance (Maniriho, 2024). Many researchers believe that student satisfaction increases an individual’s intention to stay in college, and may affect student retention (Dhaqane & Afrah, 2016; Martirosyan, Saxon, & Wanjohi, 2014; Malik, Iqbal, & Sultan, December 2023) . And to gain a competitive advantage, universities must always highlight the strategic importance of academic performance and the satisfaction level of the offered goods and services (El-Hilali, Al-Jaber, & Hussein, 2014; Petruzzellis & Romanazzi, 2010).

The Bachelor of Arts in Economics is a four-year curriculum program offered in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) of Biliran Province State University. The degree program was approved to open effective School Year 2008-2009. As per CHED Memorandum Order No. 32, series of 2017, the degree program must equip the student with analytic skills and knowledge in economic theories and modeling. The program also offers a more liberal education paradigm based on its design curriculum and the offering of foreign languages. The degree program has the smallest number of applicants and enrollees for the first semester of 2021-2022. Aside from being the smallest enrollment number, the resident faculty members of the department account for only two regular or permanent appointments and two contracts of service. With such a status quo, the department strives to attain quality education despite not being a popular course and lacking human and physical resources.

As the course is not part of the popular degree program chosen by students, students enroll in the curriculum due to failure to enroll in the preferred courses. In many interviews conducted by the Department of BA Economics during enrollment, most of the students’ answers pointed out two reasons for enrolling in the degree program. One of the main reasons is not having a choice due to failing the preferred course qualification, and the other one is that the applicant has relatives in the said program. Because of such a predicament, motivation to enroll in the program is affected. Although the department opts to integrate quality education services, motivation to continue learning economics may be affected. Accordingly, a positive relationship has been drawn by many studies when it comes to motivation and academic performance (Sukor, Ayub, Norhasnida, & Nor Khaizura, 2017; Wong & Chapman, 2022). With such enthusiasm, the department has encountered a lot of students dropping out and shifting to other courses. It now becomes a concern and problem in the department, for it may affect the delivery of quality education.

With the issues and problems, the Department of BA Economics aims to conduct and assess the students’ satisfaction with academic performance. The study might help check what variables must be emphasized to understand students’ pressing needs and problems, focusing on the influence of satisfaction on academic performance. The department also may devise an intervention that can particularly help the BA Economics student population in the quest to produce quality graduates.

 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The study’s main objective is to assess the relationship between student satisfaction and BA Economics academic performance. Specifically, the study aims to:

Identify the socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

• Year Level;
• Age;
• Sex;
• Gender Identity;
• General Weighted Average;
• Working Status; and
• Estimated Monthly Household Income.

Determine the satisfaction of students in terms of:

• Accessibility of Educational Services;
• Faculty and Staff;
• School Facilities;
• Educational Environment; and
• Curriculum Program; and
• Academic Result.

Determine the significant association between students’ general weighted average to students’ satisfaction with BA Economics.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

 A descriptive research study described students’ satisfaction with its influence on academic performance. Descriptive research defines performances and characteristics that are observed and measured (National Cancer Institute). By conducting a descriptive study, it can explain how the populace views the department’s roles and duties as a provider of education.

The study was conducted at Biliran Province State University – Naval Campus. The officially enrolled students of BA Economics in SY 2020-2021 are included in this study. As per the record, during the second semester of SY 2020-2021, the BA Economics has 206 enrolled students which is divided into the first-year (34 enrollees), second-year (44 enrollees), and third-year (128 enrollees) levels. Due to the K-12 implementation, there were no enrollees since School Year 2017-2018 which explains no fourth-year level in the program. The sampled population will be 135 students as calculated by an online software calculator using Sloven’s formula. The 135 sample respondents were divided into three based on the number of enrolled students per year level to ensure that there would be no biased answers. The confidence level measure is 95%, and 5% is the marginal error. After identifying the sample size, the researchers used simple random sampling by checking the list of BA Economics students starting in every 5^th of the sample. It must be noted that since the third-year level has the highest number of enrollees, most of the respondents were concentrated on such year level meanwhile the first- and second-year level has a lesser proportion since it has a low number of enrollments.

The survey questionnaire was adopted from Dinh Van, Tien, Nguyen Thi, Kim Chi, Thran Thi, and Hong Phuong with a study titled “Data Survey on the Factors affecting Students’ Satisfaction and Academic Performance among Private Universities in Vietnam.” The questionnaire is composed of three parts. The first part is the profile of the respondents, the second part is the assessment of student satisfaction with factors relevant to academic performance, and the third part is open-ended questions that tackle the course’s strengths and weaknesses. The data scoring utilized in the study for satisfaction is based on the Strategic Performance Manual System of the university that categorizes 4.2 to 5.0 as outstanding, 3.4 to 4.1 as very satisfactory, 2.6 to 3.3 as satisfactory, 1.8 to 2.5 as unsatisfactory, and 1.0 to 1.7 as poor. The study also utilized the Student Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) to evaluate faculty members about classroom management performance. SPMS documents from 2019 to 2022 were analyzed through text frequency of the comments, suggestions, and recommendations of students about faculty performance per class semester.

The survey questionnaire was distributed online using Google Forms. The selected BA Economics who participated the survey were e-mailed by the researchers about the information sheet on the purpose and content of the survey. The link was attached to the e-mail, and before proceeding to the main survey instruments, respondents were first asked for consent. The respondents have the freedom to disagree and the form would not proceed anymore to the main survey form. Meanwhile, students who have agreed to answer the survey proceeded to the survey form. It also been stated in the consent form button about the confidentiality of the answer and data security. If students were unwilling to proceed in answering the survey, researchers messaged the respondents with appreciation for taking the time to click the survey questionnaire. Among the 135 respondents, the majority consented to answering the survey except two respondents which was immediately replaced by two identified substitutes based on the sampling. The researchers also stated in the pre-notification e-mail the timeline of answering the survey which lasted for almost three weeks due to an unstable internet connection and inactive email which was substituted with messenger accounts.

The statistical treatment used in the study is descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequency and percentage count were used to identify the respondent’s profile, while mean was used in the students’ satisfaction. Inferential statistics, such as regression, are utilized to predict how the General Weighted Average (GWA) of students affects the student satisfaction level in the curriculum program services provided by the department.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The result of this study will be explained based on the specific objectives – respondent’s profile, student satisfaction, and the relationship between GWA and satisfaction. Firstly, the table below explains that the respondents of the study were third-year College students, 85% are female, 53% have a cisgender identity, majority of the students also have an overall General Weighted Average for two semesters of 1 -1.99 or 73%, with 79% as not working, and an estimated monthly household income ranging from P500-P10, 000.00 or an 88%.

Table 1. Respondents Profile

The BA Economics students included in the study are third-year level since it has the most significant percentage among all enrollees. And that, in considering the type of population, the majority of the BA economics enrollees are female. However, in this study, it is found that among the sexes, students have a cisgender identity, or it is a gender identity that society considers to match biological sex at birth. It means that the majority of the populace has a straight male or female gender identity. The majority of the BA Economics students are above-average performers when it comes to grades since it is from 1.0 to 1.99. In addition, based on the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, BA Economics students have a poor income classification since the majority have a monthly income of less than P 10,957.00 (Adrian, September 28, 2021). However, only 21% of the students are working students, reflecting that most other household member secure financial needs.

Table 2. Student Satisfaction of the Curriculum Degree Program

Aside from the respondent’s profile, (see Table 2) the study also explained that overall, the BA Economics students of BiPSU are very satisfied with the curriculum degree program services. It must be noted that the curriculum program gains the highest satisfaction level remarking as outstanding. The result is also consistent with studies about satisfaction and academic performance in which curriculum has the highest satisfaction level (Zamr, Omar, Irda Syahira Khair Anwar, & Farah Husna Mohd Fatzel, 2021; Kim & Kim, 2021; AlQurashi, 2018).

Factually, based on the open-ended question given to the students, many of the students revealed that as the degree program has few enrolled students, faculty members are very attentive and resonate with a quality of learning that explains the whole course subject of economics.  The only weakness that students have reiterated is the lack of faculty members for the department. However, a study has revealed that there is no basis for the significant difference in the number of faculty to student satisfaction (Malik, Iqbal, & Sultan, December 2023). That means the lack of faculty members in the department may not be able to explain why students have lesser satisfaction with educational services. In addition, the Student Strategic Performance Management System result of the BA Economics program has noted in the comments and recommendation section since 2019-2022, that most students value the curriculum due to the availability of faculty members if consulted. It is not found in any year, that the few faculty members in the department have been a problem. The performance rating of faculty members also as rated by the students since 2019-2022, has been remarked as “very satisfactory”. It may explain the result in Table 2 which faculty and staff have a mean of 4.10.

Table 2 also explains the accessibility of educational services (mean =3.90) and school facilities (mean=3.96) have lesser satisfaction compared to other services. It has been explained by one study that academic services and infrastructure development can holistically improve educational well-being and a supportive setting creates academic excellence (Qadeer, Shahid, & Ullah, 2024). The result has explained that among the indicators of the accessibility to educational services, students have lesser satisfaction due to late responses for a service requested. It has been found out in the open-ended questions answered by students, that the usual weakness concerning educational services is the lack of resource material needed by the curriculum program. As observed, many of the books available in the library were obsolete, and absence of online services. Updated course materials stipulated in the syllabus were mostly online sources which may also be aligned to the lack of resource materials in the library. A study that resulted in no significant relationship between satisfaction and academic performance has explained that quality service moderates the importance of both variables (Sara Al-Jaber, Nabil El-Hilali, & Lina Hussein, 2014). It may explain that quality of service such as accessibility to educational services may have an impact on student satisfaction and academic performance.

In addition to accessibility to educational services, school facilities especially in the department have been pointed out as a problem by the respondents. The open-ended question on the weaknesses of the program has pointed to “lack of computer laboratory”, “lack of computers”, “unstable wi-fi connection”, and “lack of equipment” which signifies the lesser level of satisfaction in the said program service. As observed and based on room utilization documents, there is only one allotted computer laboratory for the BA Economics program with less than 40 accessible and available computers. Given the importance of the computer laboratory and based on its CHED Memorandum Order (CMO), the facility would help as a venue for using software applications in econometrics. In a study conducted in the Philippines, findings revealed that there is a robust association between school facilities and learning motivation in private schools (Claveria, Leal, Paclibar, Page, & Sandigan, 2023). Although the study was conducted in a private school, it is also the same in public schools since students are less likely to buy a computer.

Studies conducting satisfaction assessments of students have described that getting an academic degree is not a success factor. Accomplishing satisfaction is the concrete meaning of success (Hassani & Aghdasi, 2014; Dhaqane & Nor, 2016; Wong & Chapman, 2022; Fearnley, Malay, & Fabia, 2022). It means that despite being a small department in the university, the department has successfully provided quality education for the students. It also means that students are willing to remain in the department because the feeling of satisfaction is high. A study of undergraduate economics at the University of Rwanda has explained that high satisfaction fuels the desire for a positive learning environment leading to higher academic performance (Maniriho, 2024). It highlights that the BA Economics curriculum is more effective and responsive since the satisfaction measure is very satisfactory (BC College and Institute Student Outcomes Survey, 2002).

Table 3. Relationship of General Weighted Average to Student Satisfaction

Predictors: (Constant), accessibility of educational services, faculty and staff, school facilities, educational environment, curriculum program, academic performance.

Dependent Variable: GWA.

The table above explains the relationship between academic performance to student satisfaction of students. The model reflects the dependent variables associated with the predictor value of student satisfaction. In this model, the r-value is .677, which means a strong positive relationship between academic performance and student satisfaction with the study. This has proven studies revealing the positive relationship between students satisfaction and academic performance (Claveria, Leal, Paclibar, Page, & Sandigan, 2023; Dhaqane & Nor, 2016; El-Hilali, Al-Jaber, & Hussein, 2014; Malik, Iqbal, & Sultan, December 2023; Qadeer, Shahid, & Ullah, 2024; Maniriho, 2024)

It further entails that the more satisfied the students are with the curriculum degree program services, the higher the academic performance. It acknowledges the idea that there is an effective and responsive BA Economics curriculum at Biliran Province State University. Also, since there is a positive correlation, an increase in the dependent variable is evident as an increase in student satisfaction. And, since most of the students have middle-performance levels in terms of GWA, there is a possibility that if the majority of the students’ performance increases, then satisfaction will also increase. It also implies that the BA Economics program still satisfies the students, although students will tend to work.

 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Based on the study result, the BA Economics curriculum program is effective and responsive for students who are very satisfied with its services. Since the study found a positive relationship between academic performance and student satisfaction, the higher the academic performance of students is the higher the satisfaction level of the curriculum program services. Also, accessibility to educational services and school facilities may be improved based on the satisfaction level since it gains the lowest mean though students are still very satisfied. Students’ perceptions in referring to adding faculty members to the department must be given importance.

With such a conclusion, the researchers believed that BA Economics must maintain the curriculum degree program services so that student satisfaction is still high. The department must upgrade school facilities like classrooms, practice rooms, sports, cultural areas, food and beverage service areas, and information technology services areas. The said school facilities are crucial in improving the satisfaction level of students. Lastly, the department must hire additional faculty to enhance students’ services further.

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