Abstract:

The factors that affect academic performance are the subject of constant study, mainly in higher education; Considering the importance that virtual education programs have achieved in Latin America and that these types of studies are accessed by people who, for different reasons, did not pursue a university degree at the time, it was important to analyze these two variables.

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between age and academic performance, to understand the underlying structure between these variables in virtual degree students in Ecuador.

The data (grades and age) were obtained from the academic system of a state university in Ecuador and correspond to the second period of the year 2023, they include all the grades of the students enrolled in the ICT engineering degree taught in virtual mode (11,514 grade records, 1993 students, 9 semesters). The data were loaded into the R software, from which two categorical variables were created: grades (Low, Average, High, Excellent) and age ranges according to the world health organization (Older adolescents, Young adults, Young adults, middle-aged adults, young older adults, older adults). A contingency table was created with the variables grade and age range; and then simple correspondence analysis was performed.

The chi square of independence was 244.838 (p value = 1.225793e-47); which certifies that there is an association between the two variables. 3 dimensions were generated; where the first dimension explains 59.15% of variability, the second 99.70% and the third 100%; This implies that two components are sufficient to explain the relationship between the variables studied. When reviewing the symmetrical graph, the main finding was that excellent grades are associated with middle-aged adults (45-64 years).

It can be considered a limitation that the research was carried out only on one degree at a university.

The finding highlights the importance of virtual programs in providing the opportunity for studies to elderly people, who probably have practical experiences in specific career areas and who for various reasons did not study in time. It also shows the need to motivate young people who participate in virtual education programs with strategies such as gamification to improve their academic performance.

From these results, future studies can be carried out where you can do analysis by study levels, gender, type of subject; including multiple correspondence analysis that associates 3 or more variables.

Keywords:

Age, academic performance, virtual education, simple correspondence analysis.