Admission Requirements and Academic Performance of Board vs Non-Board Course in Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions require specific admission criteria to select the best candidates for a particular program. This study aims to assess the admission requirements and academic performance of the board and non-board course learners. Specifically, this quantitative study utilized a descriptive-correlational research design. The data came from randomly selected third-year college students in the different Board and Non-Board programs enrolled in the academic year 2020-2021. There were 286 respondents who took part in the study, 153 from the board course program, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and 133 from the non-board course program, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. The data revealed that the most number of enrollees in the non-board course, BSIT is from the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Strand, while most learners from the Board course, BSEE belong to the General Academic Strand (GAS). Further, findings showed that the High-school Grade Point Average and the College Academic Performance of students from the non-board course, BSIT, were moderately correlated, and a similar relationship is observed for the variables College Admission Test and GPA. Meanwhile, for the Board Course, BSEE, admission tests, and high-school GPA are predictors of college academic performance. On the other hand, high-school strands are not predictors of the BSEE student's GPA.  In conclusion, the College admission tests and high-school GPA are essential admission requirements for the board and non-board programs to predict academic performance. However, the high-school strand can be a determining factor for the academic performance for the non-board course, but not for the board course.