Is First-Year Grade Point Average (GPA) A Good Predictor Of Success In Business Courses?

Leiv Opstad Professor,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, p 53-60

Abstract
A key requirement within higher education is to identify which factors influence academic success. The current paper investigates students’ performance at a business school in Scandinavia. This study includes around 200 students. By using a linear regression model, we analyse the impact of different explanatory variables. The results show that gender and age have little impact on grades achieved. Academic results from upper secondary school also have only a minor influence. The most important indicator of undergraduates’ performance for subjects in the second and third year is GPA (grade point average) from the first year. But it depends on the kind of business course. There is a clear link between performance in a subject during the first year and later outcomes in the same field.

Keywords: GPA, undergraduates, business school, success, regression model