Identifying demographic predictors that influence pass rates of Students undertaking a blended online minor award at third level in an Irish context.

Abstract

A significant amount of research has been done on metrics with regards to predicting academic success, especially internationally. At the same time very little research has been done on finding predictors for academic success specifically for blended online learning in Ireland. This research aims to identify demographic predictors that influence pass rates on a blended online minor award at third level in an Irish context and this is the research question. To identify these demographic predictors four main objectives have been employed. First, the literature has been consulted to find the paradigms and identify possible paucities. Secondly, null hypotheses have been constructed from the literature review. Thirdly, the null hypotheses are tested through quantitative research methods. The hypotheses are tested using historical demographic data from students who applied in the years 2015 and 2016. Finally, the findings from the primary research will be compared to the literature. This research does not answer why some demographics have an influence on pass rates. From the research it was found that prior math grades (grades before third level education) are a very common and reliable predictor for academic success. The second demographic predictor that was identified, age, has some correlation to academic success but is not statistically significant. The final demographic predictor, years of relevant work experience, has a strong correlation with academic success. Concluding from this it can be said that prior math grades are the most important variable that should be consulted when reviewing student applications. Followed by years of relevant work experience and age. It would be recommended to do more research into educators understanding of blended online learning and to have a clearer definition of blended online learning. This is currently especially important in the context of Covid-19. The second recommendation would be to do more research in why there is a discrepancy between years of relevant work experience and age and how they don’t always have a linear relationship to academic success.