Technological Institute of the Philippines, Research Methods for Architecture, 2021

An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences

Affect the Students' Academic Well-Being

Emmanuel A. Cayco, Bianca Fiona G. Espeso, Lalaine S. Marasigan,

Christian James G. Royo, and Allan Dominique R. Saragina

Technological Institute of the Philippines, Quiapo, Manila, Philippines

meacayco@tip.edu.ph, mbfespeso@tip.edu.ph, mlmarasigan1@tip.edu.ph,
mcjroyo@tip.edu.ph, madrsaragina@tip.edu.ph

Keywords: academic success, college, freshmen, program preference, undergraduate program

ABSTRACT This study intends to highlight the authors of the paper from the selected students
of Research Methods for Architecture 2021 under the supervision of Ar. Nathaniel Cruz. The
researchers intend to provide concrete and peculiar results about the considerations of the
students in determining their undergraduate program to pursue. The focus of the analysis is to
scale the factors considered by both freshmen and incoming college students in program
preference.
The stated topic will conduct a survey covering 50 freshmen students, regardless if they came
from the old or new curriculum, from institutes and universities in the Philippines. The results to
be acquired will be used as a basis on how affected the students’ well-being and academic
success is. From a perspective collected accordingly, the measures will allow the researchers to
acquire information on whether or not the students take an undergraduate degree program by
choice. The information from the multiple measures will foster a profound understanding of the
student’s performance and drive in completing their undergraduate degree.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The academic system in the Philippines is composed of two branches; vocational and
occupational. Vocational education offers direct and practical programs that aim to develop the
technical skills of the students. Whether it be run by the government or private institutions, they
receive a technical and vocational certificate of completion or diploma. Most technical and
vocational programs are run and certified by the Technical Education and Skills Authority
(TESDA) with its duration varying from four weeks to three years. TESDA offers technical and
vocational-inclined job opportunities to people, regardless of age, allowing them to acquire an
occupation in their chosen field.
 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

On the other hand, occupational education starts as early as age three. They are educated and
trained according to the standards and curriculum of the Department of Education and the
Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines. Occupational education is composed of six
levels - elementary, secondary, upper secondary, undergraduate level, graduate level, and
doctoral. The upper secondary education allows the students to engage in specialized education
grouping individuals according to their preferred career path. The academic strand is composed
of four specializations namely Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM), Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS),
and General Academic Strand (GAS).
The curriculum intended for grades 11 and 12 allows the students to adapt to the learning
environment similar to the undergraduate level. Learning environments are crucial considering
their linkages to their lower educational levels. Among the six levels of occupational education,
the most crucial is the undergraduate level wherein a pupil is ought to choose a program to take
on an average of four to five years depending on the curriculum. The undergraduate level is
governed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) empowered by the statements and
rights written according to the Republic Act No. 7722, Higher Education Act of 1994.
Undergraduate degree programs allow the students to reform the acquired knowledge and
develop the innate skills with the intent of intellectual progression. Over the centuries of colonial
occupation, the system of education in the Philippines draws attention towards improving
existing learning variables. The study aims to identify the factors influencing the student’s
program preference and indicate its long-term effect in terms of the student’s well-being and
academic success. The researchers are working on acquiring data for the analysis in order to
weigh and mediate the collective perspective of the freshmen students.
The evaluation of the factors considered will allow the researchers to determine the long-term
effect of choosing a program preferred and not preferred by a student. Students who are striving
to acquire undergraduate education with a program have little to no interest in affecting their
well-being and academic success in comparison to pursuing a program they are passionate about.
An undergraduate program has a standard duration of four to six years. Within the given
timeframe, the educational institution is already molding a future professional with little to no
interest in the program.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In the Philippines, the objective of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is to provide a
comprehensive and competitive quality of education creating top-notch future professionals.
With the continuous revision of the educational system in terms of curriculum and methods of
instruction, it is significant to produce professionals that are driven and passionate about their
program preference considering how it induces long-term effects on the student’s performance as

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

a professional.
In order to further evaluate the current efficacy of learning, the researchers propose to assess the
factors considered by students in determining their undergraduate program. The research aims to
provide answers to the following questions:
● What are the major considerations that affect the students in choosing an undergraduate
program?
● Is there a correlation between one’s academic success and the undergraduate degree he
chose?
● Can academic success be determined?

1.3 Objective of the Study

Following are the objectives of the study:
● To distinguish the factors that help a student decide what undergraduate program to take
● To effectively determine whether the program taken has a direct relationship with his
academic success
● To provide an in-depth analysis on how one can achieve academic success in their chosen
field of study

1.4 Assumptions
The assumptions of this scope are as follows:
● The use of common-sense assumptions may be developed such as impulsive
decision-making in choosing programs in College without validating the background of
the program;
● The presence of confusions wherein such individuals think a particular program is easy
but the practice being done otherwise;
● The misconceptions of programs and its direct link to some ideas/activities that are
deemed opposite (e.g BS Tourism program being linked to “students who want an easy
life”, BS Architecture deemed as “drawing lang” course, etc.);
● The professors in specific programs have the ability to “fail” students (e.g only
Engineering students have professors who fail students, etc.); and
● The presence of “social status-related” program misconceptions (e.g BS Architecture or
BS Business Administration are only for the wealthy and elite families; etc.)

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Sources of Data

The sources of data will allow the researchers to distinguish the quantitative values in
determining how undergraduate program preferences affect the students' academic well-being.
The empirical-analytical approach dominates the study through creating questionnaires and
conducting online responses from the respondents. The answers will be evaluated and measured
to serve as the foundation of the entire study as the researchers formulate a sufficient hypothesis.

The stated topic of discussion will require online responses from 25 freshmen students from the
Technological Institute of the Philippines and 25 freshmen students from the other institutes and
universities across the Philippines. The questionnaires will be used as a basis to answer the study
of whether or not the students took the undergraduate degree program by choice, what are their
considerations, and how is the academic well-being of the students affected by their choice of
program.

3.2 Methodology

1. The Strategy of Statistical Collection

Prior to the completion of the data collection, the researchers selected three potential response
methodologies. Through distinctive evaluation, these three are held significantly in acquiring
quantitative data. The three response methodologies are experiment, survey, and questionnaire.
Their brief description is as follows:

Experiment
An experiment is conducted with various tests in order to measure their cognitive abilities (e.g.
word recall, attention, concentration, reasoning ability, etc.) usually verbally, on paper, or by
computer. The results of different groups are then compared. Participants should not be anxious
about performing well but simply do their best. The aim of these tests is not to judge people or
measure so-called intelligence, but to look for links between performance and other factors. If
computers are used, this has to be done in such a way that no previous knowledge of computers
is necessary. So people should not be put off by this either.
Surveys
Surveys involve collecting information, usually from fairly large groups of people, by means of
questionnaires but other techniques such as interviews or telephoning may also be used. There
are different types of surveys. The most straightforward type (the “one-shot survey”) is

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

administered to a sample of people at a set point in time. Another type is the “before and after
survey” which people complete before a major event or experience and then again afterward.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires are a good way to obtain information from a large number of people and/or
people who may not have the time to attend an interview or take part in experiments. They
enable people to take their time, think about it, and come back to the questionnaire later.
Participants can state their views or feelings privately without worrying about the possible
reaction of the researcher. Unfortunately, some people may still be inclined to try to give socially
acceptable answers. People should be encouraged to answer the questions as honestly as possible
so as to avoid the researchers drawing false conclusions from their study.
Concluding such, the researchers weighed in the particular methods and were able to provide
contrast in respect to efficient statistical results. The researchers lead to the decision in using the
Questionnaire method as the best strategy of engagement to the respondents of this study.

2. Respondent Approximation
In adherence to the attributes of this study, the researchers also conducted appropriate
approximations to the number of respondents after making a decision as to which engagement
strategy will be acquired. Inclusive values were given, and are being given contrast, namely: 150,
100, and 50 respondents.

Through proper intrinsic evaluation, the researchers decided to acquire approximately 50

respondents in order to attain a synchronized study and to obtain more inclusive, accurate, and
responsive statistics.

3. Response Period and Per Diem Progression

The study now focuses on terms of the length or period being given, particularly measuring time,
in attaining the study being accurately responded as provided by the researchers. Likewise done
in the previous aspect, inclusive time periods are evaluated and given variation and led to
provide a maximum response period of 3 days.

Also, the volume of responses within the period is taken into consideration. Through the use of
careful evaluation, the approximation per diem can reach up to 20 responses. This is the
projected quantity of responses acknowledged.

The researchers have respectively agreed and seconded the aforementioned.

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

4. Degree of Difficulty (for Questionnaire)

The respondents were also able to evaluate the intensity or degree of difficulty of the
questionnaire itself. They were able to properly conduct questions that can measure the accuracy
and consistency of knowledge towards respondents for this study.

Being evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is the easiest and 5 is the hardest, it is measured on
a scale of 3. Having said that, it is within the average range of difficulty.

3.3 Description of Instruments to be Used

The chosen research method or research instrument is a survey as it is ideal for fairly large
groups of people, which is our target; we could easily argue that the larger the number of
participants, the greater the accuracy of this research. We leaned into using “online surveys” as
our survey type as we feel it is the most appropriate way to proceed.

Despite previous concerns that online surveys had an age bias due to older people being viewed
as computer illiterate, this has been debunked and so we still chose this method. Another reason
why we think online surveys are the most suitable type is that it’s convenient, more people will
be encouraged to answer the question list, thus, hitting our goal of having as many participants as
possible.

Our goal in this research is to answer the question “Is there a direct correlation between one’s
academic success and his chosen undergraduate degree?” or in layman’s terms, “Can we prove
that some programs are easier than others?”

The questions will be answered anonymously but require their attending year, age, program, and
institution or university. Questions are answered 1 as the least and 5 as the highest to weigh in
their answers. This grading system will allow the researchers to acquire specified data.

Question 5 4 3 2 1

1. Is the program undertaken your

first choice?

2. If given a chance, would you

consider switching programs?

3. Is the program taken a personal

choice?

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

4. How confident are you to finish

your pursued program?

5. How well are you fond of

studying at your attending
institution or university?

6. How well are you handling the

cultural difference from high
school to college?

7. How important do you think it

is to take a program you are
100% committed to?

8. How difficult is it to take a

program you are not passionate
about?

3.4 Data Gathering Procedures

The researchers’ goal is to identify the number of college students who have taken up their
undergraduate programs, to determine the factors and considerations with their program
preferences. The suitable research methodology for the research is the Questionnaire, giving the
opportunity to determine the number of students that are satisfied with their program choice and
students who have complications in their field of study.

Questionnaires often use both open and closed questions to collect information and data about a
topic. It can be useful for a relatively large number of subjects faster than other methods since
the researcher does not have to be present when the questionnaires are being completed which is
very useful for situations when interviews, surveys, and other methods are impractical. Closed
questions tend to use responses that fit into categories. Examples are if the questionnaires have
the options agree, strongly agree, and disagree. This can produce a large amount of research data
for such a small amount of time. However, the downside is that they lack detail. Open questions
on the other hand allow the respondents to express their own thoughts freely in much detail and
precision. Examples of these questions are “Can you tell your experiences about the event?

References
1. Dr. John K. Rugutt and Caroline C. Chemosit, "A Study of Factors that Influence College

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 An Analysis of How Undergraduate Program Preferences Affect the Students’ Well-Being and Academic Success

Academic Achievement: A
Structural Equation Modeling Approach," pp. 66-90.
2. Ryan Dayao and Olivia Almario, "Career and School Preferences of Senior High School
Students Academic Year 2017- 2018," pp. 1219-1222

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