Personal and institutional factors that contribute to the academic success of first-year business management students

M. Comm.The performance of Business Management I students at the Bunting Road Campus of the University of Johannesburg has been found to be unsatisfactory. The purpose of this study was to investigate student perceptions and to test the predictive value of a number of possible influencing factors. This was done to understand the poor levels of student performance in a more nuanced way. The sample used in this investigation comprises 111 out of 748 students (representing 14.84% of the population) who returned completed questionnaires. The Business Management I Student Profile Questionnaire (BMISPQ) was distributed to students registered for Business Management I who were in class attendance at the time. During the collection stage, 111 completed questionnaires were collected. BMISPQ was administered manually during the 3rd and 4th weeks of September 2010. The researcher and a student assistant helped in the distribution of BMISPQ to participants during that period. Only three (3) of the 29 institutional and personal factors investigated were found to have statistically significant value in predicting students‟ academic performance. These factors were gender, assessment effectiveness and self success rating. A number of recommendations that emanated from this research, aimed at improving student success, are made to both students and the University of Johannesburg