Predicting Academic Success Using Admission Profiles

Abstract

This study, conducted at a tertiary education institution in Israel, following two previous studies, was designed to deal again with a question that is a topic of debate in Israel and worldwide: Is there justification to the approach that considers restrictive university admission policies an efficient tool for predicting students’ success at the end of their first year of studies and at the conclusion of their requirements for an undergraduate degree. This study reviews the spread of higher education in and outside Israel in recent years, and discusses the institution of admission policies as a response to the gap between the high demand for studies and the limited supply. This study discusses a diverse list of admission policies that offered admission based on students’ success at the end of their first year of studies and at the fulfillment of their requirements for an undergraduate degree. This study also reviews the debate in and outside Israel on whether restrictive admission policies have fulfilled the hopes pinned on them. Finally, the study conducted a detailed study of the effectiveness of different admission policies in the various faculties of the institution in question, and found no systematic connection between admission policies and students’ actual achievements (measured by the grade average at the end of their first year and their grade average for their degree).