ERIC Number: ED599178
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jul
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Application of Hidden Markov Models to Quantify the Impact of Enrollment Patterns on Student Performance
Boumi, Shahab; Vela, Adan
International Educational Data Mining Society, Paper presented at the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM) (12th, Montreal, Canada, Jul 2-5, 2019)
Simplified categorizations have often led to college students being labeled as full-time or part-time students. However, at many universities student enrollment patterns can be much more complicated, as it is not uncommon for students to alternate between full-time and part-time enrollment each semester based on finances, scheduling, or family needs. While prior research has established that full-time students maintain better outcomes than their part-time counterparts, little study has examined the impact of mixed enrollment patterns on academic outcomes. In this paper, we apply a Hidden Markov Model to identify students' enrollment strategies according to three different categories: part-time, full-time, and mixed enrollment. According to the enrollment classification we investigate and compare the academic performance outcomes of each group. Analysis of data collected from the University of Central Florida from 2008 to 2017 indicates that mixed enrollment students are closer in performance to full-time students, than part-time students. More importantly, during their part-time semesters, mixed-enrollment students significantly outperform part-time students. Such a finding suggests that increased engagement through the occasional full-time enrollment leads to better overall outcomes. [For the full proceedings, see ED599096.]
Descriptors: Markov Processes, Enrollment, College Students, Full Time Students, Part Time Students, Academic Achievement, Data Analysis
International Educational Data Mining Society. e-mail: admin@educationaldatamining.org; Web site: http://www.educationaldatamining.org
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A