Physical geography in code of academic performance. The case of tourism courses at the National University of Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

Student academic performance is a useful variable to think about the quality of higher education. However, there are different ways to measure it. In this sense, the present article aims to explore the characteristics of such performance in the subject Physical Geography of the first year of the degree in Tourism at the national university of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. For this purpose, and under a quantitative approach, the students enrolled in the subject during the years 2018 to 2023 were considered and the concept obtained based on the university regulations, as well as the registration to the final exam until August 2024. Through these records, a double-entry matrix was designed including a universe of 911 students. The analysis reveals that 17% do not fulfill admission requirements in time, that the early dropout rate is around 27%, that 36% fail for various reasons, and that the regularity rate reaches 19%. Likewise, it is observed that only 12.37% of the students manage to pass the final exam, many of them after having taken the course on more than one occasion. These first results in relation to the problem of academic performance raise questions that invite us to deepen the analysis taking into account qualitative variables to understand the reasons for dropout and the success strategies of students in order to outline institutional actions that increase permanence and the subsequent graduation.