Analysis of the success of the students in agroeconomic studies at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb

Cilj rada je prikazati stanje i trendove u uspješnosti visokoškolskog obrazovanja u području agrarne ekonomike na Agronomskom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Na ovom visokom učilištu načela Bolonjske deklaracije primjenjuju se od 2005. godine. Tada je upisana prva generacija agrarnih ekonomista na preddiplomski studij Agrarna ekonomika koji traje šest semestara. Godine 2008. upisana je i prva generacija na diplomski studij Agrobiznis i ruralni razvitak u trajanju od četiri semestra. Podaci referade Agronomskog fakulteta obrađeni su pomoću SPSS (Statistical Program for Social Sciences 17.0) paketa, a za utvrđivanje povezanosti između varijabli korišten je χ² test. Varijable prema kojima se ocjenjivala uspješnost studiranja su: razina (vrsta) studija, akademska godina upisa studenata na studije, prosjeci ocjena položenih ispita na preddiplomskom i na diplomskom studiju, broj položenih ispita na studijima, broj prikupljenih ECTS bodova, srednjoškolsko obrazovanje po vrsti srednje škole, završeni preddiplomski studij, županija u kojoj je završena srednja škola i spol studenta. Istraživanjem raspoloživih podataka ustanovljeno je da je značajno više upisanih polaznika bilo ženskog spola, gimnazijskog srednjoškolskog obrazovanja i da su srednju školu završili na području Grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke županije. Prva tzv. „bolonjska generacija“ studenata pokazala se najuspješnijom u pokazateljima kao što su prosjek ocjena, broj položenih ispita i broj prikupljeni ECTS bodova, kako na preddiplomskom tako i na diplomskom studiju. Istraživanje je nadalje pokazalo da bolje rezultate na studiju postižu studenti ženskog spola, dok srednjoškolsko obrazovanje i županija odakle dolaze studenti ne pokazuju utjecaj na razinu uspješnosti. Studenti upisani na diplomski studij Agrobiznis i ruralni razvitak na Agronomskom fakultetu završili su stručni ili sveučilišni diplomski studij. S obzirom na preddiplomski studij koji su završili, studenti ne pokazuju manju ili veću razinu uspješnosti.The aim of this paper is to present the situation and trends in the performance of higher education in the field of agricultural economics at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture. At this University the principles of the Bologna declaration are implemented since 2005. That year the first generation of agricultural economists was admitted to undergraduate study named Agrarian Economics, which lasts for six semesters. Data were analyzed by using SPSS (Statistical Program for Social Sciences 17.0) package, and to determine the relationship between the variables the χ ² test was used. Variables according to which the success of the study was evaluated are: the level (type of) studies, an academic year of enrollment in the study, the average score on the exams at the undergraduate and graduate level, the number of exams passed at the studies, the number of accumulated ECTS points, secondary education by the type of the secondary school and the county in which the school was finished, completed undergraduate studies, and the gender of the students. In 2008 the first generation was admitted to the graduate studies named Agribusiness and Rural Development in the duration of four semesters. Analysis of the available data showed that significantly more registered students were female, with high school education and completed secondary school in the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County. The first so-called "Bologna-generation" students proved to be the most successful in indicators such as grade point average, number of examinations and the number of collected ECTS points, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. The research further showed that female students achieved better results, while secondary education, and counties where students came from did not show effect on the level of success. Students enrolled in the graduate study Agribusiness and Rural Development at the Faculty of Agriculture completed professional or university graduate program. With regard to completed undergraduate studies ,the students did not show a lower or higher level of success