Predicting Academic Success in a Japanese International University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which types of student application information, as well as demographic information obtained through a questionnaire after matriculation, best predicted later academic performance in an international English-medium university in Japan, and to examine the "big picture" of how cognitive and non-cognitive variables interact over time in accounting for student success in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program and in the regular university program. The study was divided into three parts that separately examined student application information, university entrance examinations, and the larger picture of student success. In the first part of the study, a hierarchical multiple regression was employed to determine the extent to which a variety of variables derived from application information predicted grade point average (GPA) in the EAP program, as well as first-year GPA and final GPA in the regular university program. The independent variables examined in the main regression analysis were: high school grade point average (HSGPA); ITP TOEFL scores obtained in April of the students' first year at the university; and hensachi rankings of the students' high schools. Results indicated that HSGPA was a consistently significant predictor of all levels of university GPA. ITP TOEFL scores significantly predicted EAP GPA, and <italic>hensachi