Un modelo estructural para el análisis de los factores asociados a la elección de estudios universitarios

[EN] Access to the Spanish public university system is a complex process that involved administration, offering a certain number of places in different degrees that offer universities, and students, who must prioritize their preferences in a list. Determine what are the reasons that motivate a student, and their family and personal environment, to choose a particular degree and University to develop his studies, is a complex problem and that we have approached from the point of view of structural analysis. The aim of this work is to propose a partial multivariate model that can give an account of the weight of the different variables and identified factors involved in the decision about the choice of studies and University. The model we propose is specified based on a series of structural relationships involving a set of variables and context data, which we have grouped in the following factors: - Individual factors, associated with aspects related to student and personal interests, some academic and others clearly not. - Social factors, related with aspects that have to do with the social perception of the degree, their employability, the perception that we have of the University prestige, the degree, or the profession that gives access. - Context data, relative to the value of the access mark, the offer of seats or demand that has occurred in a certain degree and University in the years immediately prior to the taking of the decision. For this purpose a structural model and a questionnaire are proposed to evaluate the model, Model validation concludes with an extensive survey and analysis of the model results.[ES] El acceso al Sistema Universitario Público Español es un proceso complejo en el que interviene la administración, ofreciendo un número determinado de plazas en las distintas titulaciones que ofertan las Universidades, y el estudiante, que debe priorizar en una lista sus preferencias. Determinar cuáles son las razones que mueven a un estudiante, y a su entorno familiar y personal, a elegir una determinada titulación y/o Universidad para cursar sus estudios superiores, es un problema complejo que hemos abordado desde el punto de vista del análisis estructural. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un modelo multivariado y parcial que pueda dar cuenta del peso de las distintas variables y factores identificados que influyen en la decisión acerca de la elección de estudios y universidad. El modelo propuesto se especifica en base a una serie de relaciones estructurales en las que intervienen un conjunto de variables y datos de contexto que hemos agrupado en los siguientes factores: - Factores individuales, vinculados a aspectos relacionados con el estudiante y sus intereses personales, algunos de carácter académico y otros claramente no. - Factores sociales, relacionados con aspectos que tienen que ver con la percepción social de la titulación, su empleabilidad, la percepción que se tiene del prestigio de la Universidad, del título, o de la profesión a la que da acceso.. - Datos de contexto, relativos al valor de la nota de corte de una titulación, a la oferta de plazas o a la demanda que se ha producido en una determinada titulación y universidad en los años inmediatamente anteriores al de la toma de la decisión. Para ello se propone un modelo estructural y se propone un cuestionario para evaluar las variables del modelo. La validación de modelo y cuestionario concluye con una amplia encuesta y el análisis de los resultados del modelo.[CA] L'accés al Sistema Universitari Públic Espanyol és un procés complex en el qual intervé l'administració, oferint un nombre determinat de places en les diferents titulacions que ofereixen les universitats, i l'estudiant, que ha de prioritzar en una llista seves preferències. Determinar quines són les raons que mouen a un estudiant, i al seu entorn familiar i personal, a triar una determinada titulació i/o Universitat per cursar els seus estudis superiors, és un problema complex que hem abordat des del punt de vista de l'anàlisi estructural. L'objectiu d'aquest treball és proposar un model multivariat i parcial que puga donar compte del pes de les diferents variables i factors identificats que influeixen en la decisió sobre l'elecció d'estudis i universitat. El model proposat s'especifica en la base d'una sèrie de relacions estructurals en què intervenen un conjunt de variables i dades de context que hem agrupat en els següents factors: - Factors individuals, vinculats a aspectes relacionats amb l'estudiant i els seus interessos personals, alguns de caràcter acadèmic i altres clarament no. - Factors socials, relacionats amb aspectes que tenen a veure amb la percepció social de la titulació, la seva ocupabilitat, la percepció que es té del prestigi de la Universitat, del títol, o de la professió a la qual dóna accés .. - Dades de context, relatius al valor de la nota de tall d'una titulació, a l'oferta de places o la demanda que s'ha produït en una determinada titulació i universitat en els anys immediatament anteriors al de la presa de la decisió. Per a això es proposa un model estructural, es proposa un qüestionari per avaluar les variables del model. La validació del model conclou amb una àmplia enquesta i l'anàlisi dels resultats del model.Soriano Jiménez, PP. (2016). Un modelo estructural para el análisis de los factores asociados a la elección de estudios universitarios [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/64076TESI

A Proposal for a Benchmark Generator of Weakly Connected Directed Graphs

[EN] The previous studies on detection of communities on complex networks were focused on nondirected graphs, such as Neural Networks, social networks, social interrelations, the contagion of diseases, and bibliographies. However, there are also other problems whose modeling entails obtaining a weakly connected directed graph such as the student access to the university, the public transport networks, or trophic chains. Those cases deserve particularized study with an analysis and the resolution adjusted to them. Additionally, this is a challenge, since the existing algorithms in most of the cases were originally designed for non-directed graphs or symmetrical and regular graphs. Our proposal is a Benchmark Generator of Weakly Connected Directed Graphs whose properties can be defined by the end-users according to their necessities. The source code of the generators described in this article is available in GitHub under the GNU license.This work has been supported by the Project "Complex Networks" from the Instituto Universitario de Matemática Multidisciplinar (IUMM) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) [under Grant number (266500194) 20170251- Complex-Networks-UPV].Montañana, JM.; Hervás, A.; Soriano Jiménez, PP. (2020). A Proposal for a Benchmark Generator of Weakly Connected Directed Graphs. Open Journal of Modelling and Simulation. 8(1):18-34. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojmsi.2020.8100218348

A procedure for detection of border communities using convolution techniques

[EN] Many complex systems can be modeled by graphs and networks, [4]. In some problems, the study of communities allows quantitative and qualitative approaches and obtaining some knowledge about the structure of the graph and what it represents [1, 3, 5]. There is extensive literature in the study of communities, mostly focused on non-directed graphs [3, 5]. In our case we focus our work on the study of communities in directed graphs, weakly connected, with weights on the edges. In MME&HB 2016, was presented an algorithm for detection of directional communities in a directed graph [1], with a special interest in the graph representing the process of access to the Spanish Public University System, (SUPE) [1, 2]. The proposed algorithm allowed to obtain communities that provided an approximation to the problem. In MME&HB 2020 we propose a new algorithm based on obtaining the centers of the graph and pruning non-significant edges [6]. Recently a method for obtain communities using convolution techniques was presented in [5]. In this paper, we propose a community detection algorithm that combines a method for calculating potential community centers and convolution techniques to prune non-significant edges.Montañana, JM.; Hervás, A.; Morillas, S.; Soriano Jiménez, PP. (2021). A procedure for detection of border communities using convolution techniques. Universitat Politècnica de València. 267-271. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/19055926727

Questionnaire for the assessment of factors related to university degree choice in Spanish public system: A psychometric study

Universities are interested in attracting students, but they do not usually have data relating to students intentions. Furthermore, both general and subjective factors are taken into account by students when choosing a degree and a university. This paper presents a psychometric study of a questionnaire which aims to assess variables relating the aspects involved in the selection process and accessing the Spanish university system. This questionnaire considers six factors: Consideration of the University; Perceived Usefulness; Social Impact; Vocational Aspects; Influence of Surroundings and Geographic Location. The item analysis (discrimination index) reduced the questionnaire to 25 items, and the reliability and validity of this final questionnaire was analyzed using a sample of 1532 students from eight Spanish universities. The results showed that the reliability as internal consistency of the six factors was high; the construct validity showed a structure of six first order factors clustered in two second order factors and finally, there was high discriminant validity between groups defined by variables such as gender or academic area. Applying predictive analytics to the results of this questionnaire will then enable specific recruiting policies to be applied, which target the type of students that universities are looking for, while reducing costs.This work forms part of the project entitled "A Longitudinal Model Impact Assessment of Variables Involved in selecting Studies and University. Academic achievement in high school and university entrance exam, as predictors of initial performance at University", financed by the ICE at the University of Barcelona in the Redice 2012, with Code Number 1641-01. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, SpainPeró, M.; Soriano Jiménez, PP.; Capilla Lladró, R.; Guàrdia I Olmos, J.; Hervás, A. (2015). Questionnaire for the assessment of factors related to university degree choice in Spanish public system: A psychometric study. Computers in Human Behavior. 47:128-138. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.003S1281384

Análisis de la relación entre el rendimiento académico y la nota de acceso para alumnos de primer curso en titulaciones técnicas

Analizar el rendimiento académico de los alumnos de una titulación universitaria es un proceso recurrente para los responsables académicos, especialmente con alumnos nuevos de primer curso. Los nuevos estudios de grado en el sistema universitario español incorporan el compromiso de la titulación en el cumplimiento de mínimos en algunos indicadores como tiempo de graduación, tasa de abandono y de eficiencia. Esto otorga al análisis del rendimiento académico una relevancia especial. Por otra parte se ha venido observando en los últimos años variaciones significativas en la demanda de las titulaciones, especialmente en las titulaciones técnicas, lo que se refleja en las variaciones de la nota de acceso y en el referente más visible, la nota de corte de la titulación. Estas variaciones son especialmente significativas en titulaciones de la rama TIC o del área agronómica. En este trabajo se realiza un estudio de la relación entre el rendimiento académico y la nota con la que accedieron los alumnos nuevos en primer curso de algunas titulaciones técnicas, extendiéndose a titulaciones de otras áreas. Se propone una clasificación de las titulaciones en función de la evolución temporal del rendimiento académico y de la demanda en primera opción: titulaciones exitosas, titulaciones en crisis, titulaciones en expansión y titulaciones amenazadas. Se analizarán casos tanto de titulaciones exitosas como de titulaciones en crisis. Los resultados muestran un efecto de relación clara y estadísticamente significativa entre el rendimiento y la nota de acceso, lo que pone de manifiesto un aumento de variabilidad en el rendimiento de los estudiantes relacionado con la variación de las notas de acceso, dando lugar a modelos de predicción cuyo estudio se desarrollará en posteriores trabajos. El método de análisis propuesto y los modelos que se desarrollan a partir de él, puede ayudar a los responsables universitarios en la toma de sus decisiones.Hervás Jorge, A.; Soriano Jiménez, PP.; Capilla Lladró, R. (2017). Análisis de la relación entre el rendimiento académico y la nota de acceso para alumnos de primer curso en titulaciones técnicas. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/8112

Questionnaire for the assessment of factors related to university degree choice in Spanish públic System: a psychometric study

Universities are interested in attracting students, but they do not usually have data relating to students' intentions. Furthermore, both general and subjective factors are taken into account by students when choosing a degree and a university. This paper presents a psychometric study of a questionnaire which aims to assess variables relating the aspects involved in the selection process and accessing the Spanish university system. This questionnaire considers six factors: Consideration of the University; Perceived Usefulness; Social Impact; Vocational Aspects; Influence of Surroundings and Geographic Location. The item analysis (discrimination index) reduced the questionnaire to 25 items, and the reliability and validity of this final questionnaire was analyzed using a sample of 1532 students from eight Spanish universities. The results showed that the reliability as internal consistency of the six factors was high; the construct validity showed a structure of six first order factors clustered in two second order factors and finally, there was high discriminant validity between groups defined by variables such as gender or academic area. Applying predictive analytics to the results of this questionnaire will then enable specific recruiting policies to be applied, which target the type of students that universities are looking for, while reducing costs

Psychometric study of a questionnaire for the assessment of factors associated with the choice of degrees and universities in the Spanish public system

© ACM 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in TEEM '13 Proceedings of the First International Conference on Technological Ecosystem for Enhancing Multiculturality. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2536536.2536577Many different factors are taken into account by students when choosing a degree and University. Some of these are general considerations, such as the quality of the degree course, ratio of available places and places in the degree course chosen as first choice, cut-off mark, etc. Others are subjective factors, such as friends studying the same degree or studying in the same university, etc. Knowledge of these factors and the importance given to them by students can provide a competitive advantage when carrying out activities aimed at advertising and attracting students. This paper presents a psychometric study of a questionnaire that has been developed to assess variables relating to social and personal aspects involved in the selection process and accessing the Spanish public university system. The questionnaire was evaluated by means of a pilot test, the results of which were used to generate a final scale, which was administered to a total of 1532 students from eight Spanish universities. These students can be divided into six major areas of training and courses from 2009-10 up to 2012-2013. All the students had recently graduated from high school and were in their first year at the university. The results showed that the reliability of the both the six factors taken into consideration (Consideration of the University; Perceived Utility; Social Impact; Vocational Aspects; Influence of Surroundings and Geographic Location) and an adjustment of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis used to estimate construct validity was high. Likewise, the results show high discrimination validity between groups defined by relevant variables such as gender or academic area of the university studies.This work forms part of the project entitled "A Longitudinal Model Impact Assessment of Variables Involved in selecting Studies and University. Academic achievement in high school, and university entrance exam, as predictors of initial performance at University ", financed by the ICE at the University of Barcelona in the Redice 2012, with Code Number 1641-01. The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain.Hervás Jorge, A.; Guàrdia I Olmos, J.; Peró, M.; Soriano Jiménez, PP.; Capilla Lladró, R. (2013). Psychometric study of a questionnaire for the assessment of factors associated with the choice of degrees and universities in the Spanish public system. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2536536.2536577

Modelling the Process to Access the Spanish Public University System Based on Structural Equation Models

[EN] Currently, one of the challenges of universities is attracting talent in students, researchers, and teachers. The transition from high school to college requires a student to take a succession of decisions that will shape their future. For this reason, knowledge of the motivations of the students, their family, and their personal environment, to choose a particular degree and/or university to pursue their higher studies, would allow universities to efficiently adjust their recruitment strategies. In this article, a study was developed based on a structural equation model of the access to the Spanish Public University System (SUPE), which can help with supply and demand problems, recruitment actions and policies, and other strategic decisions. This was done through an extensive survey of first-year students of Spanish universities. The results allowed us to obtain the parameters of the model, which showed that the fit between the model and the data obtained were excellent at a global level and acceptable as well in all knowledge areas. The objective of the structural model was to provide a general view of the behavior of the students when deciding the degree and university in which they are going to study, and can help in the decision making of university leaders and to understand some behaviors of the Spanish Public University System.This work was funded by the Project "Complex Networks" from the Instituto Universitario de Matematica Multidisciplinar (IUMM) of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) [grant number (266500194) 20170251-Complex-Networks-UPV].Hervás, A.; Soriano Jiménez, PP.; Guardia, J.; Peró, M.; Capilla Lladró, R.; Montañana Aliaga, JM. (2020). Modelling the Process to Access the Spanish Public University System Based on Structural Equation Models. Mathematical and Computational Applications (Online). 25(2):1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/mca25020031S115252Romero, C., & Ventura, S. (2007). Educational data mining: A survey from 1995 to 2005. Expert Systems with Applications, 33(1), 135-146. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2006.04.005Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2004). Understanding Differences in the Choice of College Attended: The Role of State Public Policies. The Review of Higher Education, 27(4), 501-525. doi:10.1353/rhe.2004.0020Price, I., Matzdorf, F., Smith, L., & Agahi, H. (2003). The impact of facilities on student choice of university. Facilities, 21(10), 212-222. doi:10.1108/02632770310493580Maringe, F. (2006). University and course choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(6), 466-479. doi:10.1108/09513540610683711Parry, J., Mathers, J., Stevens, A., Parsons, A., Lilford, R., Spurgeon, P., & Thomas, H. (2006). Admissions processes for five year medical courses at English schools: review. BMJ, 332(7548), 1005-1009. doi:10.1136/bmj.38768.590174.55Intl Student Recruitment: Policies and Developments in Selected Countrieshttps://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/international-student-recruitment-policies-and-developments-in-seThe Chinese Education System Described and Compared with the Dutch Systemhttps://www.nuffic.nl/en/publications/education-system-china/Information about the Education System of South Korea and the Evaluation of Degrees Obtained in South Koreahttps://www.nuffic.nl/documents/491/education-system-south-korea.pdfThe American Education System Described and Compared with the Dutch Systemhttps://www.nuffic.nl/en/publications/education-system-united-states/Ford, D. Y. (1998). The Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted Education. The Journal of Special Education, 32(1), 4-14. doi:10.1177/002246699803200102Leppel, K., Williams, M. L., & Waldauer, C. (2001). Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(4), 373-394. doi:10.1023/a:1012716828901Viernes Turner, C. S., & Thompson, J. R. (1993). Socializing Women Doctoral Students: Minority and Majority Experiences. The Review of Higher Education, 16(3), 355-370. doi:10.1353/rhe.1993.0017Huffman, A. H., Whetten, J., & Huffman, W. H. (2013). Using technology in higher education: The influence of gender roles on technology self-efficacy. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1779-1786. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.012Misran, N., Sahuri, S. N. S., Arsad, N., Hussain, H., Zaki, W. M. D. W., & Aziz, N. A. (2012). The Influence of Socio-Economic Status among Matriculation Students in Selecting University and Undergraduate Program. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 56, 134-140. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.640Tinto, V. (2006). Research and Practice of Student Retention: What Next? Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 8(1), 1-19. doi:10.2190/4ynu-4tmb-22dj-an4wThe Spanish Education System Described and Compared with the Dutch Systemhttps://www.nuffic.nl/en/publications/education-system-spain/Plan de Captación de Estudianteshttp://www.ff.ulpgc.es/system/files/plan_captacion_estudiantes._2017-2018.pdfOrientación: Actividades para Secundariahttp://www.upv.es/contenidos/ORIENTA/info/794644normalc.htmlCampus Praktikum UPVhttp://www.upv.es/contenidos/PRAKTIKUM/Programa Valentinahttp://www.valentinas.upv.es/proyecto_valentina_upv.htmlMujer e Ingenieríahttp://www.raing.es/es/actividades/presentaci-n-del-proyecto-mujer-e-ingenierServicios de Información y Orientación Universitarioshttp://www.um.es/web/siou/inicioHervás, A., Guàrdia Olmos, J., Peró Cebollero, M., Capilla Lladró, R., & Soriano Jiménez, P. P. (2013). A Structural Equation Model for Analysis of Factors Associated with the Choice of Engineering Degrees in a Technical University. Abstract and Applied Analysis, 2013, 1-7. doi:10.1155/2013/368529Peró, M., Soriano, P. P., Capilla, R., Guàrdia i Olmos, J., & Hervás, A. (2015). Questionnaire for the assessment of factors related to university degree choice in Spanish public system: A psychometric study. Computers in Human Behavior, 47, 128-138. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.003Guàrdia Olmos, J., Peró Cebollero, M., Hervás Jorge, A., Capilla Lladró, R., Soriano Jiménez, P. P., & Porras Yañez, M. (2014). Factors related with the university degree selection in Spanish public university system. An structural equation model analysis. Quality & Quantity, 49(2), 541-557. doi:10.1007/s11135-014-0008-9Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55. doi:10.1080/1070551990954011

Factores asociados con la decisión de cursar estudios universitarios de Psicología. Una aproximación mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales

Students take into account different factors in their choice of career and college. Some more global as the quality of the degree (sometimes estimated from the cut-off marks, etc.) and other more subjective (my friends also go to this degree). This paper presents the first multivariate model that accounts for the weight of the different variables and factors linked to the decision literature studies and college students do and applied for specific university degree in Psychology. These aspects have been studied in a sample of 872 psychology students of 2010-2011 course. All of them were feshmen and had chosen psychology as first choice. A Structural Equation Model was proposed as statistical approach. The fit indices GFI, AGFI, NFI, NNFI and CFI show values higher than 0.9 and value of RMSM was .003, indicating good model fit. It seems that the elements of the qualification (cut marks, availability, demands in first option) outweigh social and personal factors (recommendations from friends or parents, for example) and, therefore, the election system is based more in circumstantial aspects than in the variables related with the studen

A structural equation model for analysis of factors associated with the choice of engineering degrees in a technical university

Copyright © 2013 Antonio Herv´as et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Many different factors are taken into account by students when choosing a degree and university. Some of these are general considerations, such as the quality of the degree course (ratio available places/places in first choice, cut-off mark, etc.) while others are subjective factors (e.g.: friends doing the same course). This paper presents a partial multivariate model that considers the weight of the different variables linked to this decision, as identified in the bibliography. We analyzed four samples of first-year students (total n = 1790) from different engineering degree courses at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) in the 2010-11 and 2011-2012 academic years. All the students involved in the study had chosen this university and their courses as their first option. The overall effect shows that the structural model adjusts reasonably well to the different engineering courses analyzed. Similarly, the individual models for each engineering degree manage to identify the different effects involved. In the case of the engineering degree based on new technologies (ICT) the statistical effects are much greater and more statistically significant than in the other three branches of engineering considered. Social and individual factors were seen to have more impact on the choice of ICT degrees at the UPV.research was made possible in part by the PSI2010-21214- C02-01 Project and was carried out by members of the Generalitat de Catalunya's SGR 388 Consolidated Research Group and also by members of the Grup Consolidat d'Innovacio Docent en Aprenentatge de l'Estadistica en Salut de la Universitat de Barcelona (GCID-2011/EST). This work forms part of the project entitled "A Longitudinal Model Impact Assessment of Variables Involved in Selecting Studies and University. Academic Achievement in High School and University Entrance Exam, as Predictors of Initial Performance at University," financed by the ICE at the University of Barcelona in the REDICE 2012, with Code no. 1641-01.Hervás, A.; Guàrdia Olmos, J.; Peró Cebollero, M.; Capilla Lladró, R.; Soriano Jiménez, PP. (2013). A structural equation model for analysis of factors associated with the choice of engineering degrees in a technical university. Abstract and Applied Analysis. 2013:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/368529S17201