Tilamsik | Vol. 8, No.

2 | March, 2016 | ISSN: 1656-1953 (Print); 2467-6209 (Online)

Journal of Research of the College of Arts and Sciences, Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, PH

Correlates of Academic Performance of College of Arts and

Sciences Students: Basis for Intervention

Dr. Marissa L. Cadao-Esperal, RGC, RP

Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southern Luzon State University
Associate Professor V, Psychology Program, CAS, SLSU

Abstract

The study attempted to determine the correlates of academic performances of

535 students enrolled in the five programs of the College of Arts and Sciences
in Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines during the First
and Second Semester of AY 2014-2015. A multivariate analysis of data was done
to determine how internal and external factors which are further categorized into
three clusters of variables: cognitive variables (IQ test scores [OLSAT] & College
Admission Grade) and personality variables (personality test scores [NEO-PI] &
General Self-efficacy scores) and environmental variables relate to academic per-
formance in college (GWA). Data gathering was accomplished through administra-
tion of standardized and non-standardized tests and through coordination with the
College Dean’s Office and the Guidance and Testing Office of the university, which
provided other needed data. Analysis of findings identified four good predictors
of academic performance of CAS students; two of which are cognitive variables
consisting of OLSAT score and Admission Grade; one personality variable which
is the level of Conscientiousness (based on NEO PI) and environmental factor,
which is identified as family variables. The findings of the study add value to the
predictive validity and reliability of the using standardized mental ability tests and
previous academic performance reports in predicting academic success. It was
further concluded that non-intellectual variables like personality traits and family
has something to do with academic performance and intellectual achievement of
students. An intervention program which focused on the four identified factors was
designed to enhance the academic performance of CAS students.

Keywords: Academic Performance, Correlates, Intervention

Editor’s Note: This is a condensed version of the institutional research con-

ducted by the author. Completed in 2015, this study was funded by the SLSU
Office of Research Services.

Vol. 8, No. 2
March,SPECIAL REPORT 11
Research
2016
Articles
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1.0. Introduction

While still in the university, the students’ academic performance is used as

a measure of the impact of education on the students. If a student performs
well in a particular course of study, it is an indication that the said student
achieves the learning outcome expected of him/her. Although success cannot
be measured solely by academic performance, for the Filipinos, it is perceived
as a key to better and successful life after college. As Nwokocha & Amadike
(2005) pointed out, academic performance of students is the yardstick for
testing educational quality of a nation. Hence, it is expedient for higher learning
institutions to maintain a high performance in internal and mostly external
examination, e.g. board examination, Civil Service Examinations, etc.

In connection, over the years, Southern Luzon State University has “committed
to building people, providing quality education and promoting a healthy
environment”. It is therefore, a mandate for every member of the institution,
most especially those who are directly in line with the academic affairs, to
ensure that this quality education is adequately given to its recipients. Indeed,
the way to build people is to provide them the quality education that the
Commission on Higher Education extensively promotes.

However, the consistent decline in students’ performance in public examination

is not only frustrating to the students and the parents, its effects are equally
grievous on the society. Ekundayo, H.T. & Alange, H.O. (2006) stressed that
the problem of downward trend in academic performance of students has
often been attributed to a number of factors among which are: the institutions’
leadership style, teacher quality, home factors, government factors and non-
provision of educational resources (human, material, financial resources).

As a faculty member of Southern Luzon State University, the researcher

observed that some colleges and programs in the University are consistently
able to attract the best of students – the high-achievers or the topnotchers in
the admission ranking. However, over the past years, the majority of students
enrolling in the programs in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) are those
who just have average to above average high school academic performance
and those who just get average scores in the College Entrance Examination
(CEE). Based on the CAS CEE results for the Academic Year, 2013-2014,
the mean Admission Grade of our prospective students is 75.19; which is
interpreted as Average (GTS Report).

The researcher believes that it is of great importance to identify various

factors that influence the performances of students in a particular course.
Identification of these correlates can lead to the creation of some educational

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(and/or guidance) intervention programs to further improve the academic

pursuits of our students. Thus, this study attempted to determine the correlates
of the academic performances of 535 students enrolled in the five programs
in the College of Arts and Sciences during the First and Second Semester of
AY 2014-2015. Findings are intended to serve as bases for an intervention
program to improve the academic output of the said college.

Specifically, this study attempted to:

1. Determine the profile of CAS students in terms of:

1.1. Demographic Variables (Age, Sex, Place of Origin, Family
Background, and SES as indicated by Tuition Fee Bracketing),
1.2. Cognitive Variables [Scores in Intelligence Test (OLSAT) and
Admission Grade (which is based on 50% High School General
Weighted Average and 50% College Entrance Examination
results)],
1.3. Personal Variables (Personality Traits and Self-efficacy Level);

2. Determine the extent of impact of external variables (teacher factor

and school facilities) in the academic performance of CAS students;

3. Identify which among the clusters of variables (demographic,

cognitive, personal and teacher factor) are good predictors of academic
performances of CAS students; and

4. Formulate an intervention program that will help enhance the academic

performances of CAS students.

2.0. Framework of the Study

There is a bulk of literature and studies that concentrated on predicting

student performance. Hakkinen (2004) estimated that up to 25 percent of an
individual’s future educational success can be explained with factors that are
observable at the time of the admission. In her own investigation, she found
that grade point averages (GPA) from previous school and aptitude test scores
provide the best forecast of success, whether the success is measured as
grades or completion of higher education. Betts and Morell (1999) studied
the determinants of first-year college grades at the University of California,
San Diego, and found that personal background (gender, ethnic group, family
income) and the socio-economic environment of the school are significantly
linked to college GPA. In addition, high school GPA and School Ability Test
(SAT) scores are strongly correlated to success at college, but predictions

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could be improved by adding background variables. Rothstein (2003) on the

other hand, noted that much of the aptitude test’s predictive power derives
from its correlation with high school demographic characteristics.

For the Filipino families, sending their young people to universities and colleges
to achieve educational progress is a means to prepare for a better future. It
serves as a way to alleviate themselves from poverty. Whether one will become
successful or not is dependent on whether one will finish higher education or
not. Tertiary education is a stepping stone for better future. One determinant of
student’s educational achievement is their academic performance measured
by General Weighted Average (GWA) or Graded Point Average (GPA). Usually,
GWA or GPA is initially predicted by a standardized test such as intelligence
tests that formally gauge future academic performance and such scores are
believed to predict an individual’s ability to perform in scholastic tasks. It is,
thus, a common notion that the higher the scores on such intelligence tests,
the better they are in performing academic tasks.

The proponent of this research found from the related literature and studies
that there are many factors that influence academic performances in school.
Some studies pointed out the impact of demographic variables in academic
achievement(Betts and Morell, 1999; Ockert, 2001) yet, some probed on the
impact of personal variables such as the level of motivationself-esteem, etc.
(Lamsis, 2010; Lukins, 2012). Among those variables, which were highlighted
are the university entrance requirements (Hakkinnen, 2004) such as mental
ability test (Rothstein, 2003; Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013) and secondary school
academic performance (Richarson et. al., 2012).

It is the intent of the proponent of this research to confirm the validity of

factors identified in the literature in predicting the academic performance of
the students enrolled in the five programs in one of the seven colleges in
SLSU – the College of Arts and Sciences in the Main Campus. It is hoped that
this research endeavor can serve as basis for future strategic planning and
developmental pursuits for the college.

To provide insight as to how the research was formulated, the research

paradigm, which can be seen in the next page (Fig. 1), is shown.

The above diagram shows the input-process-output flow of the research. Input
includes the demographic profile of CAS students during the First and Second
Semester of A.Y. 2014-2015. This consists of age, sex, place of origin, type
of High School attended, course preference, family background and SES as
indicated by Tuition Fee Bracketing. The second input variable is the cognitive
profile which comprises CAS students’ intelligence test (OLSAT) scores and

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High School General Weighted Average and CEE that make up their College
Admission Grade. The first two clusters of variables are already available at
the Guidance and Testing Center. The third variable, CAS students’ personal
profile, which includes personality orientation and self-efficacy levels were
also considered as input and these data were gathered through psychological
tests administration, scoring and interpretation.

Process involved determining the average academic performance of CAS

students for the whole academic years of their stay in the university. This
further includes measuring the extent of impact of external factors (teacher
factor and school facilities) in students’ academic performance. Finally, data
analysis was accomplished through statistical measures.

Through the processes involved, the researcher was able to identify the
correlates of academic performance and then prepare an intervention program
to improve the academic outputs of the college.

Fig. 1. Research Paradigm

3.0. Materials and Methods

This descriptive-correlational study employed multivariate analysis of the

data which is already at hand. Research activities started through seeking
permission from the concerned authorities and offices in the university to
conduct the research. Simultaneously, preparation of materials and other

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instruments to use in the research was done. The researcher requested the
purchase of personality test (NEO-PI), which is one of the instruments used in
this research.

With the help of student assistants, she started establishing the database of
CAS students in October, 2014. They used the individual records of students
in the CAS Dean’s Office to obtain the grades of students as well as their
demographic data. Students’ CEE results, admission grade, tuition fee bracket
classification were requested and were taken from the Guidance and Testing
Center.

The researcher intended to take the whole population of the College of Arts and
Sciences from the five programs: Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Bachelor
of Arts in Psychology, Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration, Bachelor of
Science in Biology and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics during the 1st and
2nd Semester of AY 2015 (1220). However, along the process, the researcher
realized that there were irregular students. Moreover, the CEE results and
Admission Grade of some students were neither in the college records or
guidance and counselling records because they came from other colleges.
Thus, the researcher decided to consider those who are regular students of
the College and those who have complete records to be the respondents of
the study. This resulted in a total of five hundred and thirty five students.

The administration of personal data questionnaire and General Self-Efficacy

Scale started during the last week of October, 2014 until March, 2015. However,
the administration of personality test was accomplished late due to the late
delivery of the purchased instrument (NEO PI). Scoring and interpretation
of personality test results and completion of database were accomplished
in August, 2015. A multivariate analysis through the use of SPSS was done
with the help of a statistician. Findings of the study served as the basis of
the preparation of an intervention program for enhancing the academic
performance of students in the CAS-Main Campus.

4.0. Results and Discussion

After the tedious work of conducting the study, database preparation and
data analysis, the researcher came up with the following findings which are
presented in tables and figures.

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4.1. Demography of the Respondents

Table 1. Distribution of Respondents by Program

Table 1 presents the distribution of the respondents per program in the College
of Arts and Sciences. It was the researcher’s intention to include the total
population as respondents; however, due to incomplete records - incomplete
records of grades, missing CEE result and unavailability of the students during
the time of administration of questionnaires, many students were deleted
from the database. Moreover, since the AB History program was deferred at
the time of the conduct of the study and most of the students left enrolled in
the program are either irregular students or fourth years students, who were
deployed in different practicum fields, AB History was removed from the target
participants. Table 1 indicates that 535 (43.85%) of the total CAS population
of 1220 during the AY 2014-2015 remained as respondents after screening
the completeness of the data. It can be noticed that the biggest proportion of
respondents comes from BS Biology (58.67%), while the smallest proportion
of respondents comes from AB Communication (35.99%). It is noted that the
fourth year AB Communication students were deployed in their respective
practicum fields during the conduct of the study that caused a small percentage
of fourth year students having participated in research. On the other hand, the
biggest percentage of respondents come from AB Psychology (31.96%).

The sex distribution of the respondents reveals that the majority of CAS
students were female, which constitutes 77.2% as compared to 22.8% of
the males. The findings perhaps is the same with most of the colleges where
females dominates males in terms of number particularly on courses that
people perceived as suitable for a particular sex. Similarly, it can be observed
that from elementary, there were more female graduates than male, hence, it
is expected that more females would eventually proceed to high school then,
college.

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When it comes to the age of the respondents, it can be noted that their age
was varied. The majority of the students were 17 – 19 years old. The age
distribution can be attributed to the number of enrolled students of the CAS
from first to third year level. There were few young students (16y/o = 7.10%),
who took courses under CAS while almost 4% of the students were above 20.
In addition, as to the place of origin of the respondents, and since SLSU is
in the first district of Quezon, almost half (41.3%) of the respondents were
from the first congressional district. It is followed by the second, fourth then
third district. Notably, 87 students (higher than those from the third and fourth
districts) of CAS were from Laguna. In terms of distance, the SLSU main
campus is considered more accessible for students coming from Laguna
(Luisiana, Majayjay, Liliw, Cavinti and other nearby towns) as compared to
those in the third and fourth districts. This suggests that CAS students in SLSU
came from more or less similar culture and walks of life.

The tuition fee bracket, where the respondents belong, on the other hand,
shows that the majority of CAS students belong to bracket A (71.03%)
which means that most of them come from family with income of less than
Php140,999.00. This suggests that most CAS students come from low socio-
economic status families.

The source of financial support of the respondents reveals that the majority of
the respondents are supported by their respective parents (71.40%) in their
studies. This indicates that despite meagre resources (low SES) as revealed
in the previous table, the parents – father and/or mother of the respondents
take full responsibility of the education of their child; that they invest most of
their resources for their children’s future.

4.2. Cognitive Variables

The distribution of Otis–Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) scores of CAS

students reveals that around 43% (21.7% plus 21.3%) of their OLSAT scores
fall within the range of 33 to 42. Through the years of its use as Admission
Test for college in SLSU, the general passing score considered is 37. This
just means that a significantly big percentage, 41.5% to be exact, of the
respondents were admitted into their respective programs even though they
did not pass the cut off score in OLSAT.

The same observation can also be noted on the respondents’ Admission Grade
(AG), obtained by adding the OLSAT score and their High School Genera
Weighted Average Grade (HSGWA). It can be observed that most of the
scores fall within the range of 73.29 – 76.54. With reference to this data, this
range was at the fifth class which just points out that there were roughly 25.6%

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of the students, who were admitted that had AG result lower than that grade
for AY 2013 – 2014. Thus, it might be possible that the admission grade was
also lower for the previous academic years or there were students admitted
even though they were below the mean admission grade set by the college.

Table 2. Mean Admission Grade (AG) and Mean Intelligence Test Score of the Respondents

Table 2 shows the mean admission grade and mean score in the intelligence
test (OLSAT) obtained by the respondents. It revealed that the BS Biology
program consistently has the highest mean for both admission grade and
OLSAT and next to its mean scores is the BS Mathematics program. Evidently,
AB Public Administration consistently has the lowest mean for both admission
grade and OLSAT scores. Its mean score for OLSAT is below average. It is
important to note also that AB Psychology program which is presently a board
course is consistently located in the middle of the five programs in terms of
mean admission grade and intelligence test score. Overall, the college’ mean
admission grade and OLSAT score lie on the average scale.

4.3. Personal Variables

Table 3. Personality Profile of the Respondents

Table 3 presents the personality profile of the respondents based on the NEO
PI personality inventory. The NEO Inventories are concise measures of the
five major dimensions or domains of personality and the most important traits
or facets that define each domain.

The first of the Big 5 is Neuroticism. The domain of Neuroticism is related

to maladjustments. This includes such facets as anxiety, anger, hostility,
depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness and vulnerability. It appears

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that both male and female respondents have a high level of neuroticism. As the
personality test suggests, men and women who have high level of Neuroticism
are prone to have irrational ideas, to be less able to control their impulses
and to cope more poorly with stress than others. Although psychologists
distinguish among many different kinds of emotional distress, from social
phobia to agitated depression to borderline hostility, innumerable studies have
shown that individuals prone to any one of these emotional states are also
likely to experience others (Costa & McCrae, 1992).

The second domain is that of Extraversion, which includes warmth,

gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking and positive
emotions. Moreover, extraversion is related to sociability – liking people and
preferring large groups and gatherings. Both male and female respondents
have an average level of extraversion which also means that the respondents’
level of assertiveness, activity and talkativeness is just the same as the ordinary
normal individuals. Their level of excitement and stimulation, upbeat, energy,
optimism and tendency to be cheerful in disposition is at par with ordinary
people.

Openness, which is the third personality domain measured by NEO PI includes

facets such as fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas and values. It is further
reflected through an active imagination, aesthetic sensitivity, attentiveness to
inner feelings, preference for variety, intellectual curiosity, and independence
of judgment. The mean score in openness of the respondents fall within the
average as well. This suggests that the respondents’ level of curiosity about
inner and outer worlds is just similar to ordinary individuals of the same age
and sex. They are willing to entertain novel ideas and unconventional values,
and they experience both positive and negative emotions just as ordinary
people do.

The fourth of the domains of personality is Agreeableness, which involves the

following facets: trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty,
tender-mindedness. As the test implies, the domain of Agreeableness is
primarily a dimension of interpersonal tendencies. Test profiles showed that
both male and female respondents have low mean score on this domain. As
the test suggests, low scorers on agreeableness, disagreeable or antagonistic
people, are egocentric, skeptical of others’ intentions, and competitive rather
than cooperative. Low level of agreeableness is associated with narcissistic,
antisocial, and paranoid personality disorders. It is tempting to see agreeable
side of this domain as both socially preferable and psychologically healthier,
and it is certainly the case that agreeable people are more popular than
antagonistic individuals. However, the readiness to fight for one’s own interests
is often advantageous and Agreeableness is not a virtue on the battlefield or in

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the courtroom. Skeptical and critical thinking contributes to accurate analysis

in the sciences, which is a characteristic of low scorer in agreeableness.

The last domain measured by the NEO PI is Conscientiousness. This involves

such facets as competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-
discipline and deliberation. As the test suggests, the conscientious individual
is purposeful, strong willed, and determined, and probably few people become
great musicians or athletes without reasonably high level of this trait. Digman
and Takemoto-Chock (1981) referred to this domain as Will to Achieve.
There appeared to have gender difference in respondents’ mean score on
this domain, with the male having low mean score while the female having
average mean score. Thus, it just reveals that the male respondents tend to
be less orderly, less scrupulous, less punctual and less reliable compared
to their female counterparts. They may manifest low sense of competence,
dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline and deliberation compared
to female respondents whose level is just the same as in the other ordinary
people. Conscientiousness is associated with academic and occupational
achievement; thus, people who are low on this domain are not much determined
to achieve academically and occupationally (McCrae, Costa & Busch, 1986).

When measured on the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the respondents

fell under the average level. Self-efficacy is an aspect of personality that
concerns one’s belief in in his/her capabilities to organize and execute the
courses of action required to produce given attainments. Considered as one
of the most important ingredients in the recipe for success, it is the power to
believe that one can accomplish what he/she wants to accomplish (Bandura,
1997; Rathus, 2005). The result shows that the CAS students have the level
of confidence to make things happen like any ordinary people do. They have
a moderate belief in their capabilities that they can produce given levels of
attainment as others would do.

As to the distribution of the college GWA of 535 CAS students during AY 2014-
2015, data shows that no CAS student had a GWA better that 1.21. Less
than 1% (0.6%) had a GWA of 1.21-1.45; 8.2% had GWA from 1.45 to 1.75,
and the majority (91.2%) had GWA greater than 1.75. (Note: In the SLSU
grading system, 1.0 is the highest grade while 3.0 is the lowest passing grade;
thus, the higher the value, the poorer is the academic performance.). It can be
observed from this data that very few CAS students excel in academics.

Among the five programs, students from the BS Mathematics program has the
highest mean GWA of 2.08 (86 to 88) while AB Public Administration has the
lowest mean GWA of 2.21 (83-85). BS Biology and BS Mathematics students
have GWA, which generally would fall within 2.0 in the current grading system

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in university while the rest of the students from other courses will more likely
have GWA’s falling within 2.25 grade. This presents a picture of students whose
performance is within the average level. CAS students are not necessarily the
top-performing but they are not on the lower ranks.

Analysis of Variance in the GWA of CAS students (F computed value (3.470

> 0.05)) indicates a significant difference on the college general weighted
average of students from the five courses (BA Comm, BAPA, BA Psych, BS
Bio, and BS Math). Using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test under
5% level of significance, the college GWA of AB Comm was found to have
significant difference from those of BS Bio and BS Math; the GWA of BS Bio
significantly differs from that of AB Comm and BAPA; and BS Math from AB
Comm, AB Psych, and BAPA (the same was true if the pairings were reversed).
Moreover, the correlates of college academic performance as indicated by
GWA reveals that that college GWA is significantly correlated with the two
cognitive variables in the study: the OLSAT scores (-0.451) and the admission
grade (-0.546). CGWA is also significantly related with two personality
variables: conscientiousness (-0.204) and GSES (-0.122) and other personal
factors (-0.170). Finally, CGWA was found significantly related to environmental
factors which are external to the respondents: family (-0.160), teacher factor
(-0.148) and school facilities (-0.139), family. From these variables and their
corresponding values, it was seen that the linear relationship existing were
from very weak (0 – 0.20) up to moderate (0.40 – 0.60). In addition, all of
the significant correlations had negative magnitude. This means that as the
value for the profile of the students increases, the value of the college GWA
decreases (which makes sense since the grading of SLSU implies higher
grade given a lower value of GWA).

The overall results of the study directed the researcher to the identification
of some pressing needs/problems that the university, more specifically, the
College of Arts and Sciences need to address. These are presented in Table
4. Program objectives are also formulated to serve as guide in the preparation
of intervention measures.

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Table 4. Grid showing the iIentified Needs of CAS Students

in

5.0. Summary and Conclusions

The study attempted to determine the correlates of academic performances of
the students enrolled in the five programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
It ruled out the relationship of internal (cognitive, personality and other personal
variables) and external (environmental) factors in the academic performance
of CAS students.

Data were gathered from 535 CAS students, who, in terms of demography,
consists of primarily female (77.2%), 17-19 years old (84.1%), came from
Quezon Province, more specifically from the First District of Quezon (82.4%),
belonging to Bracket A Tuition Fee Scheme (lowest), and majority of them
are supported by their respective families. The respondents in general have
average academic performance (X = 2.16) with around 8.22% only are
performing higher than the average. This suggests a mediocre academic
performance among CAS students.

Analysis of data enumerated a number of correlates to academic performance

of CAS students. However, out of the myriad of variables, four good predictors
of academic performance of CAS students were identified; two of which are
cognitive variables consisting of OLSAT score and Admission Grade; one
personality variable which is the level of Conscientiousness and the last is
environmental factor which is identified as family variables.

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Findings of this study support previous researches (Ekundayo, 2013; Hecker

& Thorpe, 2005; Hakkinen, 2004; Rantanen, 2001), which identified mental
ability test and previous academic performance as predictors of college
success. The OLSAT is a standardized mental ability test while the admission
grade consists of student’s score in OLSAT and mean grades in Math, Science
and English from first year to third year in High School. The findings of the
study, therefore, adds value to the predictive validity and reliability of the
current admission requirements in SLSU.

Conscientiousness, which is one of the identified correlates of CGWA is

indeed, relevant since this personality domain involves such facets as
competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline and
deliberation. As the test suggests, the conscientious individual is purposeful,
strong willed, and determined since experts referred to this domain as Will to
Achieve. Results of personality test, therefore, suggest a pattern related to the
academic performance of CAS students. The level of Conscientiousness of
CAS students has something to do with their average academic performance
and intellectual achievement.

Personality tests results also revealed high level of neuroticism and low level of
agreeableness among the respondents. As the personality test suggests, men
and women who have high level of Neuroticism are prone to have irrational
ideas, to be less able to control their impulses and to cope more poorly with
stress than others. Although a very low correlation was established between
neuroticism and academic performance of CAS students such an attitude may
have adverse effect on students’ performances in school.

The same is also true with the level of Agreeableness which involves the following
facets: trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-
mindedness. As the test implies, the domain of Agreeableness is primarily a
dimension of interpersonal tendencies. Test profiles showed that both male and
female respondents have low mean score on this domain. As the test suggests, low
scorers on agreeableness, disagreeable or antagonistic people, are egocentric,
skeptical of others’ intentions, and competitive rather than cooperative. Low
level of agreeableness is associated with narcissistic, antisocial, and paranoid
personality disorders. Such personality orientation might be affecting the level of
academic performance and achievement of the students. Informed by the results
of the data gathered, the problems were identified, and program objectives were
formulated to serve as guide in the preparation of intervention measures.

Finally, identification of family factors as one of the correlates/predictors of

academic performance of CAS students has led to another conclusion: Family still
remains a strong force in academic success of CAS students.

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Research Articles
Cadao-Esperal, M. (2016)

6.0. Recommendations

In the light of the findings and conclusions in this study, the following
recommendations are offered:

1. Present the findings of the study to the College of Arts and Sciences
Administration, faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders for feedback
and/or confirmation;
2. Prepare an intervention program to address the problems/issues identified
in this study; and to measure the effectiveness of the program in improving the
academic performance of CAS students in one-year time;

For the CAS Guidance Counselor:

3. Provide self-awareness programs and personality enhancement activities
among CAS students;
4. Conduct group counselling sessions to those students who have family
issues;

For the FSDP/HRMO:

5. Conduct seminars and workshops for CAS teachers on how to enhance
academic interest and motivation of students;

For CAS:
6. Revisit, review, evaluate and revise (if deemed necessary) the admission
policies and procedures implemented in the college; and
7. Strengthen the internal control policy of each academic program in the
college.

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About the Author

Dr. Marissa L. Cadao-Esperal, RGC, RP is the Vice President

for Academic Affairs of Southern Luzon State University. She
conducted this study when she was the Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the
University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Corresponding Author: mlcesperal@yahoo.com.ph.

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