Analysing Existing Saudi Arabian University Admission Criteria for Accounting Programs

Abstract

This research was motivated by the significant role played by effective admission criteria in predicting academic performance, particularly in Saudi Arabian accounting programs. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the appropriateness of Saudi Arabian university admission criteria for undergraduate and postgraduate accounting programs. First, for the bachelor accounting program, this research aims to explore how well existing admission criteria—which test different dimensions of prior knowledge—predict academic performance of accounting students based in Saudi Arabia. It evaluates the validity of the High School Grade Point Average (HSGPA) and College Entrance Exam (CEE)—that is, the General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Achievement Test (AT)—to predict student performance in the Preparatory Year Program (PYP), along with first-year core courses in the accounting program and First Year Grade Point Average (FYGPA) and overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of students at the end of the degree. It also examines how the business college PYP predicts performance in the first year, and overall student GPAs at the end of the degree. The role of gender as a moderator in these relationships is considered. This investigation is based on prior knowledge theory (PKT), which is characterised as a multidimensional, hierarchical entity comprised of various types of knowledge and skills. Tied to the above, for the Master of Accounting program, this research aims to evaluate how effectively one admission criterion predicts the relative academic performance of accounting students in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, it examines the impact of English language proficiency—as measured by International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores—on the relative performance of Saudi Master of Accounting students in more versus less conceptually oriented accounting courses. This investigation is informed by cognitive load theory (CLT), which addresses the challenge of processing complex cognitive tasks with multiple interactive information elements. The findings demonstrated that when used as sole predictors, the explanatory variables (HSGPA, GA, and AT) all had statistically significant positive correlations with the dependent variables related to predicting academic performance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that HSGPA was the strongest incremental predictor of academic performance, whereas GAT was the weakest, showing no significant incremental predictive power in most cases. This study demonstrates that HSGPA is the strongest predictor of both short- and long-term college outcomes in particular accounting disciplines. Further, the results consistently imply that the individual courses and GPA of the PYP in the business college have predictive value for academic performance. Additionally, the results indicate that gender does moderate the relationship between admission criteria and PYP and academic performance, which is significant in many cases. Last, the results show that English language proficiency measured by the IELTS alone has no significant direct effect on the relative academic performance of Saudi accounting students. Several implications can be drawn from this research for stakeholders and policy makers. It raises questions about the continued use of GAT score as an entry criterion and strongly supports gender-based differential entry criteria. In addition, it provides insight into the efficacy of the PYP.