Abstract:
This study was conducted to determine if university admissions criteria and student learning style were predictors of academic performance and degree completion of college agriculture students. Freshmen enrolled in the University of Missouri's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, in the fall semesters of 1997 (n = 245) and 1998 (n = 197),participated. ACT, high school core GPA, and high school class rank were investigated as predictors of academic performance and degree completion, in addition to students' preferred learning styles. Regression analysis was utilized to determine the variance in students' cumulative GPA at the completion of five academic years. Step-wise discriminant analysis was performed to build a predictive model for degree completion. Using the Davis (1971) correlation conventions, a low, positive relationship was found between students' preferred learning style and academic performance for both academic years. The best predictor of students' academic performance for both groups, as determined by cumulative college GPA, was their high school core GPA. For both groups, learning style was not a predictor of students' cumulative GPA. High school core GPA was found to have limited value in predicting agriculture students' degree completion rates.
Keywords:
university admission criteria, predictors, academic success
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