Profile Analysis of Students’ Academic Performance in Ghanaian Polytechnics: The Case of Bolgatanga Polytechnic

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to examine the changes in the average academic performance of students over time and how these changes are related to student segments, choice of program and the entry qualification of the student. The cohort of students admitted into Bolgatanga Polytechnic during the 2009/2010 academic year formed the sample and only students who successfully completed were used. Data on grade point averages (GPA), demographic and socio-economic features from 131 Female and 271 Male students was obtained from the Examinations Department and the Student Affairs Unit of Bolgatanga Polytechnic. The multivariate analysis of variance technique was used to complement the Hotelling’s T² to compare the mean vectors of k random samples for significant difference among the levels of Departments, Entry Requirements and Gender. Profile analysis of the data indicated at 5% level of significance that the average GPA scores of the Male and Female students were parallel, level and deviated significantly from flatness whereas the various Departments had their own subject-specific mean response. The Entry Qualifications of students admitted into the Polytechnic were not similar.

Keywords: Profile Analysis, Academic Performance, MANOVA, Ghana