FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

HO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS

MID-TERM REPORT
Major: International Business Management
FACTORS INFLUENT GPA OF FOREIGN TRADE
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Group: GT
Class: K51CLC2
Lecturer: Ms. Le Hong Van

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2015

TEAM MEMBERS
Do Ha My
Do Ngoc Thinh
Van Bich Minh Anh
Luu Thanh Hong
Tran Ngoc Quynh Huong
Hoang ang My Linh
Nguyen Nhat Linh
Truong Thuy Trang

1201017202
1201017352
1201025006
1201025029
1201025035
1201025039
1201025041
1201025097

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS...................................................................................i
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.......................................................................ii
PERFACE................................................................................................................1
Chapter One: THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................2
1.1.

Definitions...................................................................................................2

1.1.1.

GPA.......................................................................................................2

1.1.2.

Some relevant definitions......................................................................2

1.2.

Research methodology.................................................................................2

1.2.1.

Research model.....................................................................................2

1.2.2.

Research function establishment...........................................................3

1.2.3.

Regression method................................................................................4

1.2.4.

Variables and expected relationships.....................................................4

Chapter Two: REGRESSION ANALYSIS............................................................8

2.1.

Overview......................................................................................................8

2.2.

Regression result........................................................................................10

2.3.

The direct impact of the dependent variable on the independent variables.11

2.4.

Comparing the results with expected relationship......................................12

Chapter Three: THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF

GPA......................................................................................................................... 13
3.1.

For students................................................................................................13

3.2.

For university.............................................................................................14

CONCLUSION......................................................................................................15
REFERENCE..........................................................................................................a
APPENDIX..............................................................................................................b

1
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ABBREVIATIONS

FULL FORM

ATTEND

Class attendance

BORE

Boredom

GPA

Grade Point Average

HSCHO

High school result

INTER

Internet using time

LOVE

Sexual relationship

OLS

Ordinary Least Square

OUTAC

Extra curriculum activities

STUDY

Self-study time

SLEEP

Sleeping time

SUPPO

Financial support

TEAM

Teamwork

WORK

Part-time job

2
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
PAGE
Figure
Figure 1.1. Research model
Figure 2.1. The 5th regression result
TABLE
Table 3.1. Quantitative variables
Table 3.2. Qualitative variable

3
11
4
7

1
PERFACE
Once in the grand opening speech of Nobel 2008, Stockholm, Chairman of
the Board of the Nobel Foundation, Dr. Marcus Storch had said, The basis of all
human development is knowledge. The most important contributions come from
universities. This saying once again emphasizes the importance of university
knowledge to everyone because a firm and specialized university knowledge may
guarantee a better career and social status for students in the future, which shall lead
to improve in incomes, living standards and promote economic and social
development. To evaluate the performance of students in university, Grade Point
Average (GPA) is applied. GPA not only reflects the entire learning process of one
student but also the training and education quality of the university.
However, not everyone will get high GPA as it concerns many other factors.
Notice this critical matter, this thesis would like to discuss further into the elements
that affect university student performance under the thesis name FACTORS
INFLUENT GPA OF FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS by using
Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regressions. Objects of research are the students in
second, third and fourth year at Foreign Trade University. The GPA of chosen
objects is of school year 2014-2015. Based on the results obtained through a survey,
this thesis would suggest some resolutions to improve the quality as well as the
efficiency of university outcome.
The thesis consists three follwed chapters:
-

Chapter One: Theory and research methodology

Chapter Two: Regression analysis
Chapter Three: The recommendations for improvement of GPA

In the process of obtaining and analyzing datum, we have some limitations

due to a specific number of samples collected in comparison with the number of
Foreign Trade University student and limited specialized knowledge. We appreciate
all the comments and feedbacks from teacher.

2
Chapter One: THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.1.

Definitions

1.1.1. GPA
GPA can be considered as the most precise figure to present the studying
result because it reflects the studying status of the students through subjects and
years.
To be more detail, GPA is a summary statistic that represents a student's
average performance in their studies over a stated period of time. Being numerical,
GPAs are calculated to two decimals.
The formula:
n

(ai n i)

GPA= i=1 n

ni
i=1

Where:
GPA is Grade Point Average
ai is the average grade of the subject i
nI is the number of the credits of the subject i
n is the number of the subjects used to calculate GPA
1.1.2. Some relevant definitions
Primary knowledge: the primary knowledge system which provide the
fundamental information about various aspects of the human life to meet the need of
the society.
Extracurricular activities: those that fall outside the realm of the normal
curriculum of school or university education, performed by students.
1.2.

Research methodology

1.2.1. Research model

The authors suggest the followed research model:

3
Figure 1.1. Research model
Sexual relationship

Self-study

Extra curriculum activities

(LOVE)

(STUDY)

(OUTAC)
Boredom of the subject

Financial support
(SUPPO)

(BORE)

GPA

Sleeping time

Teamwork time

(SLEEP)

(TEAM)

(STUDY)
Class

High school result

(HSCHO)

attendance

Part-time job

Internet using

(WORK)

(INTER)
(Source: The authors)

1.2.2. Research function establishment

Based on the selected factors, the function for the relationship between
studying result and them will be:
GPA=f(STUDY, SLEEP, HSCHO, INTER, SUPPO, WORK, ATTEND,
OUTAC, LOVE, TEAM, BORE, GEND)
After analyzing the related research and the data, our group decided to apply
Estimated Multiple Linear Regression to find out the researching result:
n

Y i= i + i X i. j + i
j=1

Where:
Y i : Dependent variable
i : Populations regression constant
i : Populations regression coefficient for each variable
X i . j : Independent variable
i : Model error

The general regression model for this report will be:

4
GPA= o + 1STUDY + 2SLEEP + 3HSCHO + 4INTER + 5SUPPO +
6WORK + 7ATTEND + 8OUTAC + 9LOVE + 10TEAM + 11BORE +
12GEND
1.2.3. Regression method
To analyze the collected data, our group applies OLS to build up the model.
With OLS, our group works on the statistical meaning of the independent variables
by comparing the p-value with predetermined . Hence, the lower the p-value is the
higher possibility the hypothesis H0 and the statistical result will be accepted.
To the confidence interval for this case is 95%. It means an independent
variable has the statistical value if its p-value is less than = 0.05. By this way, the
variables with highest p-value will be rejected from the model. This task keeps
continued until all the independent in the model are valid.
The outliner examination method is also executed to ensure the validity of
the collected data.
1.2.4. Variables and expected relationships
1.2.4.1.

Dependent variable

GPA: The average mark of the Foreign Trade University students in the latest
semester from 2014 2015
1.2.4.2.

Independent variables

Quantitative variable:
Table 3.1. Quantitative variables
Variable

Factor

Unit

Expected

Explanation

relationsh

definition

ip

with

depende
nt
STUDY

SLEEP

Time students Hour/day

variable
+

The more self-study

spent for self-

time

study

higher mark can be

Time

got.
Spending

for Hour/day

is

spent,

the

more

5
time

sleeping

sleeping

results

in

comfortable spirit
which

enhances

the focusing and

understanding
ability

of

students
to
HSCHO

INTER

The

average Mark

mark

at

the

the

leading
higher

studying result.
The better the high
school result is, the

grade of 12

higher

Time

GPA is.
Spending much time

internet

for Hour/day

with

the

using

student

internet

with

entertainment

entertainment purpose

purposes

can cause distracting

in studying and make
the

SUPPO

Financial
support

Million

studying

performance worse
The
financial
support

from dong/month

family

family
the

from
reduces

burden

on

students,

and

enhances

their

studying
WORK

Time for part Hour/week

time job

performance.
The more time for part
time job the student
spends, the less time

6
for

studying

have.

Hence,

they
the

studying performance
ATTEND

The rate that %

becomes worse.
Class attendance

students attend

contributes

the

and contribute

subject result of

to the class

the

students.

Moreover, higher
class attendance
portion

means

that the students

frequently join in
class, follow the
lecturer
explanation,
which

improves

the
OUTAC

LOVE

Time

for Hour/week

studying

result.
Extracurricular

extracurric

activities

ular

students refresh their

activities

mind, then support the

Time

studying result
The more time for

for Hour/week

help

the

boyfriend/girlf

sexual relationship the

riend

student

spends,

the

less time for studying

and

other

activities

they have. Therefore,

the

studying

performance becomes

TEAM

Time

for Hour/week

studying

in

worse.
Group-study

makes

the lecture easily to

group

understand,

reduces

boredom in studying
and
BORE

The rate that %

the

student

increase

the

studying performance
When the subject is
boring,

the

student

feels

bored

tends to decrease time

with

the

for it leading to the

subject

lower result.
(Source: The authors)

Qualitative variable:
Table 3.2. Qualitative variable
Variabl
e
GEND

Choice
1
0
Mal

Femal

Relationship with Explanation

the

expected

dependent variable
The female student is usually
more industrious and careful in
studying, so the studying result is
usually better than the male
students one.
(Source: The authors)

8
Chapter Two: REGRESSION ANALYSIS
2.1.

Overview
In order to have an objective assessment the important factors that affect

students academic performance, the authors launched a survey of over 400 students
currently studying at Foreign Trade University. The data was collected in two weeks
and based on the cumulative GPA of the latest semester in 2015.
Time for self-study (STUDY) (Unit: hour/week)
It is shown that the more time students spend on self-studying, the higher
GPA they get. In greater details, the majority of the students have an average time of
self-study of about 10 20 hours per week and 0 10 hours per week, which
accounts for 35.25% and 35% respectively. Only 10% of the sample spends over 30
hours per week for self-studying. The cumulative GPA of the group spending 0 10
hours per week is roughly 7.32. Whereas, this figure increases to 7.65 and 7.94 for
those studying on their own for 10 20 hours and 20 30 hours per week. The
highest GPA (8.27) belongs to the group having the largest time of self-stdudying,
which is over 30 hours per week.
Time for sleeping (SLEEP) (Unit: hour/day)
According to the survey, the students sleeping more than 6 hours per day
tend to have higher GPA. The figures illustrates that there are 377 over 400 sudents
spend on average over 6 hours/day to sleep. 23 other students sleep less than 6
hours/day. Only a little percentage of them (1.5%) spends more than 12 hours/day
for sleeping. Regarding the GPA, the students sleeping more than 6 hours/day have
higher GPA than those sleep less than 6 hours (7.82 as compared to 7.48
respectively)
The average mark at the 12th grade of (HSCHO)
The result shows that the higher the grade in highschool the students gor, the
higher GPA in university they have. In particular, there is 18.5% of the sample had
an average score of 9 - 10, 62% of them got 8 9, 18% of them got 6.5 8 and
1.5% of them had 5 6.5. The GPA of these groups of students follows a downward
trend, which are 8.26, 7.78, 6.72 and 5.72 respectively.
Time for internet with entertainment purposes (INTER) (Unit: hour/day)

9
The academic performance of students using Internet for entertaining over 2
hours/day is lower than those spend less than 2 hours/day. 84% of the sample
spends more than 2 hours/day surfing on the Internet for entertaining purposes. The
GPA of them is 7.56, 0.55point lower than those spending less than 2 hours/day on
the Internet for the same purpose.
Financial support from family (SUPPO) (Unit: million VND/month)
There seems to be no correlation between the amount of allowance and the
academic performance. In details, 48.5% of the sample is given 2.5 5 million
VND/month, 44.25% of them are supported 0 2.4 million VND/month and only
6.5% is given more than 5 million VND/month. The GPA of these groups is 7.59,
7.69 and 7.83.
Time for part time job (WORK) (hour/week)
The survey shows that the more time students spend on part time job, the
lower GPA they get. 96.5% of the sample spends less than 21 hours/week on part
time job and the rest spends more than 21 hours/week on their part time job. The
average GPA of the two groups is 7.65 and 7.5 respectively.
Class attendance level (ATTEND) (Unit: %)
According to the result, fully attending all the classes helps to increase the
GPA. 86% of the students have a level of attendance of 75 100%, 12% of them
attend 50 75% of the classes and only 2% of the sample attends less than 50% of
the total classes. The first group gets an average GPA of 7.79. The GPA of the others
is 6.83 and 6.71 respectively.
Time for extra-curricular activities (OUTAC) (Unit: hour/week)
The survey indicates that students spending more time on extra-curricular
activities have higher GPA. In particular, 83.5% of the students spend less than 7
hours/week on extra-curricular activities. The GPA of this group is only 7.5, 0.68
point lower than that of those spend 7 21 hours/weeks on this kind of activities,
which accounts for 14.25% of the sample. 34 students spend more than 21
hours/week on extra-curricular activities and get the highest GPA of 8.23.
Time for boyfriend/girlfriend (LOVE) (Unit: hour/week)

10
There seems to be no correlation between the GPA and the time students
spend for their boyfriend/girlfriend. About one-third of the students have a
boyfriend/girlfriend. Their GPA is 7.61, which is not significantly different from the
other two-third who do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend. 41.43% of the students
having a boyfriend/girlfriend spend 1 8 hours/week for their relationship. 36.43%
of them spend 8 16 hours/week and 22.14% spend more than 16 hours/week for
their boyfriend/girlfriend. The GPA of those spending 1 8 hours/week is 7.55, this
figure is lower than that of the group spending 8 16 hours/week (7.76) but higher
than that of the students spending more than 16 hours/week (7.52).
Time for studying in group (TEAM) (Unit: hour/week)
The students spend more time on group-studying tend to have higher GPA. 361 over
400 spend less than 7 hours/week on group-studying. 9.75% spends more than 7
hours/week and is shown to have 0.16 point higher than the GPA of the former.
Boredom level with the subject (BORE) (Unit: %)
The level of boredom is in a negative relation to the GPA. The group feeling
0 30% of the subjects is boring get an average GPA of 8.17. This figure drops to
7.37 with those who feel 30 60% of the subjects are boring and to 6.92 with those
feel 60 100% of the subjects are boring.
Gender (GEND) (Male/Female)
It can be concluded that the academic performance of female students is
higher than that of male students. 58.75% of the sample is female students. The
GPA of this group is 7.78, 0.13 point higher than of the male students.
2.2.

Regression result
After running the regression five times and removing the variable with

p_value > 0.05 (the variables have insignificant statistically meaning), the model
has the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.5965, means that the independent
variables STUDY, INTER, WORK, ATTEND, OUTAC, BORE, GEND can explain
59.63% the change of dependent variable GPA. The other unknown variables are
not included in the model.

11
Figure 2.1. The 5th regression result

(Source: The authors)

Therefore, the final regression equation is:
GPA = 4.025851 + 0.010340*STUDY - 0.047087*INTER - 0.016020*WORK
+0.007090*ATTEND + 0.023118*OUTAC - 0.010461*BORE - 0.127085*GEND.
2.3.

The direct impact of the dependent variable on the independent

variables
According to the results of the Eviews software, it can be seen that with a

significance level of 5%, the variables self-studying time, the time for using the
Internet for entertainment, the time for part-time job, the level of lecture attendance,
the time joining extracurricular activities, the level of boredom for the lecture and
the gender is the independent variables which affect GPA of students. In more

12
detail, the level of influence of each independent variable mentioned above with the
GDP is:
- When all the above independent variables are equal 0, the GPA of students is
4.025851 points.
-

Self-study hours: Other factors being constant, when self-study hour

increases 1 hour/ week, the GPA of students increase 0.01034 points.

Time for using the Internet for entertainment purposes: Other factors being
constant, when the amount of time of using the Internet for entertainment

purposes increases by 1 hour/ day, the GPA will drop 0.047087 points.
Time for the part-time job: Other factors being constant, when the amount of
time for part-time job increases by 1 hour/ week, the GPA will drop 0.01602

points.
Level of attendance: Other factors being constant, when level of attendance

increases 1%, the GPA of students increase 0.00709 points.

The time joining extracurricular activities: Other factors being constant,
when the time joining extracurricular activities increases 1 hour/ week, the

GPA of students increase 0.023118 points.

The level of boredom for the lecture: Other factors being constant, when the
level of boredom for the lecture increases by 1%, the GPA will drop

0.010461 points.
Gender: The difference of GPA between male and female is 0.127085 points.
Other factors being constant, the GPA of the male student is 0.127085 lower
than the female student.

2.4.

Comparing the results with expected relationship

In comparision with 12 variables initially suggested in regression model

including, the percentage of statistically significant variables is 58% (7/12

variables). These significant variables are Self-study hours, Time for using the
Internet for entertainment purposes, Time for the part-time job, Level of attendance,
The time joining extracurricular activities, The level of boredom for the lecture ang
Gender.
The result about the correlation between independent variables and
dependent variables is the same as the expectation in chapter one.

13
Chapter Three: THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF
GPA
3.1.

For students
Based on the results of regression model mentioned in the previous chapter,

it is clear that the amount of time spending on self-study, on internet for

entertainment purposes, on doing part-time job, on extracurricular activities, the
level of class participation, the boredom rate with the lecture and gender all affect
GPA. Thus, there are some suggestions for students on improving GPA.
About self-study hours, students need to make sure that they are ready for
college exam by start to revise as soon as possible. Thanks to time spent on
reviewing the subject matter each day, students will be better prepared than they
would be if they wait until the last minute to cram.
With reference to the time using Internet for entertainment purposes, students
should stay away from Facebook and other social network during study time. Once
the mind gets distracted, it can take minutes to hours before it refocuses on the
activity it was involved in because sometimes the student would just click on one
link that would lead him to another and then another.
On the subject of doing part-time job, students should balance between the
amount of time for study and for part-time job in order that their academic
performance will not be badly affected. Although working can bring students
experience, school should remain priority.
In the matter of attendance level, firstly, although students can download the
lecture notes or borrow it from friends, and learn on their own, they should go to
class regularly to have detailed verbal explanations, which are key to understand the
materials. This is also the opportunity to ask questions and listen to the Q&A of
other students, special announcements and even to have extra credits from their
lecturer. Secondly, school attendance of students is not only limited in participating
in class, but also taking part in a study group which is one of the best ways to stay
on track and raise their GPA. Group studying not only makes students accountable
but also forces them to become more organized about what they have learned.
With respect to the time joining extracurricular activities and academic
performance, the advice is to take part in these kinds of activities more often. By

14
this way, students have a channel for reinforcing the lessons learned in the
classroom and opportunities to apply academic knowledge in a real-world context.
Dealing with the lecture boredom level, the solution is sitting in the front.
When students sit towards the front, they are more likely to maintain focus, build
self-confidence, and develop relationship with the person who will give out their
grade. Moreover, they will feel more like a participant than a passive observer,
which will automatically engage them in the lecture. Secondly, they should try to
spend some time with a study friend who is interested in the subject. This friend
will have good influence on their view and help them out when they are in struggle.
Referring to gender, students can form a study group that includes boys and
girls so that both genders can support each other and take advantage of strength of
their counterparts.
3.2.

For university
It is recommended that school administration department should motivate

students to increase their GPA as following suggestions:

-

Self-studying time: Invest in private learning area facilities to encourage and

motivate students to learn.

Internet using time: Prevent broadcasting Wi-Fi in the lecture area to reduce
internet-using time and limit access to entertainment channels such as

Facebook, Instagram
Attendance rate: Notice students attendance and announce to their family if

class attendance rate is insufficient.

Outdoor activities: Organize more outdoor activities such as field trips,

charity activities or team building activities.

Boring subject rate: Take survey about the interesting rate of student after
each subject to make improvements and enhance teaching method by
creating more interactive studying cases during class.

15
CONCLUSION
After reviewing all the datum obtained from the regression model, it is stated
that there is positive correlation between GPA and the amount of time spend on
studying, class attendance rate and extra curriculum activities; among those the
strongest correlation with GPA is extra curriculum activities. Also, the regression
model also give evidences about the negative correlation between GPA and internet
surfing time, part time job, subject boredom rate and gender. It is recommended that
students should actively take part in extra activities rather than mainly focus on
specialize knowledge. Not only extra activities help students to widen their
relationship, practice soft skills, but it is also a great chance for students to involve
in many others study activities from different study groups. Moreover, studying
time and class attendance rate is as well considered as main factors influent GPA,
students with greater study time, at home and in class, is more likely to get higher
score for their work and understanding in comparision with students who do not.
The study time reflects the amount of effort invested in analysing the lesson and
memorizing it for further applications.
Besides the positive factors mentioned above, there are other negative factors
students should take into consideration, such as time spent on internet browsing,
part time job, love affairs. Surprisingly, gender shows stronger correlation to GPA
than others, which means girls appear to have better GPA than boys due to diligence
and assiduous work.
GPA is not a perfect representation for the value of a student; however, it
should be of attention of Foreign Trade University students as GPA is a golden key
opens opportunities to numerous good job positions, higher social status and better
living standards.
Even though this thesis is not an initial study in this field, we hope that it
may bring a new scientific and objective perspective about the factors that affect
GPA so that Foreign Trade University student shall have better study plan for the
future. This is also a chance for students to take a closer look into their own
strengths and recognize limitations that negatively affect their score and make effort
to overcome them.

1
REFERENCE
1. David F. Groebner, Patrick W. Shannon, Phillip C. Fry, 2010, Business
Statistics, Pearson Education.
2. Marc Silver, 21/08/2008 ,

Advice on How to Study in College,

<http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2008/08/21/advice-on-how-tostudy-in-college?page=2>, 10/10/2015.

2
APPENDIX
Questionnaire about the factors affecting the academic performance of the
students in Foreign Trade University
Hi all,
Our group is doing a report about the factors affecting the academic performance of
the students in our university. In order to do so, we really need your help and
opinions. Please fill in this form and be noticed that your personal information is
kept confidential for research purpose only. Thank you so much.
1. Your gender
Male
Female
2. Your cumulative
3.
4.
5.
6.

GPA

at

the

university

(on

10.0

scale):

Your cumulative GPA of the 12th grade (on 10.0 scale):

On average, how many hours per week do you spend for self-studying?
On average, how many hours per week do you spend for sleeping?
On average, how many hours per week do you spend for your boyfriend/

girlfriend?
7. On average, how many hours per week do you spend for extra-curricular
activities?
8. On average, how many hours per week do you spend for surfing the Internet
for entertaining purpose?
9. On average, how many hours per week do you spend for group-studying?
10. On average, how many hours per week do you spend for part-time job?
11. On average, how much allowance per month do you get (VND)?
12. Your percentage of attendance in class (%)?
13. The percentage of the subjects taught in the university that makes you feel
bored (%)?