The impact of environment on engineering students' academic performance: A pilot study

The main aim of this research is to examine the relationship between academic performance of electrical engineering students in the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia and various factors affecting their grades. In this study, the students were categorized by gender, and the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was used as the Key Performance Index (KPI). The factors that affected students' grades such as environment, teaching methodology, teaching aid, students' attitude and lecturers' involvement were selected as the parameters to be investigated. The data were collected via questionnaires distributed to 90 students currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree program (B.Eng.), UiTM. In this pilot study, this paper compares the academic performance of both genders and the effect of environment towards their grades. Results indicate that male students have better grades than female students and that, environmental factors affect them differently. The paper concludes by summarizing environmental factors that can influence academic performance, which will provide data for academic institutions to provide facilities and environment that will support learning and subsequently enhance students' academic achievements.