Impact of absenteeism on academic performance under compulsory attendance policies in first to fifth year university students

Abstract

Since the implementation of the European Higher Education Area, universities have been obliged to implement continuous assessment systems that require a high degree of attendance by students. Using recorded data, from year 1 to year 5, of 694 students of a European university, where attendance is mandatory, the main objective of this research is to analyse to what extent absenteeism affects performance across the years of degree study. The investigation found a decreasing effect. In addition, a cluster analysis was done to find out if the compulsory attendance policy impacts all students equally. Three different behavioural styles were found: those who attend regularly, students who manage their number of absences to comply with attendance rules, who are the real targets the policy, and a third group with a high number of absences not affected by the policy. These findings identify the groups of students who benefit most from adequate attendance.

Attendance and Academic Performance in University Studies in Tourism

“…This result was replicated in subsequent decades through various research studies conducted in different countries and universities (Credé et al, 2010). Most of the research in the social sciences has focused on students enrolled in economics and business administration courses (Chan et al, 1997;Maloney & Lally, 1998;Marburguer, 2001;Sauers et al, 2005;Méndez & Crespo, 2021). However, literature specifically addressing this phenomenon in the field of tourism appears to be absent.…”

“…The second group consists of research based on panel data (Rodgers, 2001;Latif & Miles, 2013). Lastly, the third group comprises studies that test this relationship through regression models (Romer, 1993;Maloney & Lally, 1998;Méndez & Crespo, 2021).…”

“…One such variable is the relationship between class attendance and student performance. While this relationship has been extensively studied in the field of economy (Romer, 1993;Chan et al, 1997;Maloney & Lally, 1998;Marburguer, 2001;Sauers et al, 2005;Credé et al, 2010;Dey, 2018;Méndez & Crespo, 2021), its examination within the context of university studies in tourism remains relatively limited.…”

“…To achieve this objective, the study will construct a predictive model of student academic performance by, as mentioned before, incorporating various variables. Building upon previous research on the influence of the students' academic year (Maloney & Lally, 1998;Méndez & Crespo, 2021), the analysis will also explore the role of subject repetition as a factor that has so far not received any attention in academic research, a matter that adds a novel dimension to the study and enhances its relevance.…”

Advanced Deep Learning Model for Predicting the Academic Performances of Students in Educational Institutions

“…In his study, ref. [28] examined the relationship between absenteeism and academic performance across five years of a degree at a European university, where attending classes is mandatory. In analyzing data from 694 students over an academic year, the study revealed that absenteeism's negative impact on grades diminishes over the years, most notably affecting first-year students.…”