Success in an introductory operations research course: A case study at the United Arab Emirates University

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of a number of factors such as high school major, high school score, gender, Stat105, Maths I, Maths II grades, and grade point average (GPA) on students' academic performance in an introductory operations research (OR) course at the department of Business Administration - College of Business and Economics at the UAE University. Design/methodology/approach: All students who completed the introductory OR course during the fall and spring semesters of the academic years 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 were chosen. Collected data were analyzed using correlation and stepwise multiple regression. Findings: The results indicate that significant correlations exist between OR grade and GPA, maths I grade, maths II grade, and stat 105 grade. Results also show that there is statistically significant difference between the performance, measured by grade, in OR of males and females. There is also statistically significant difference in performance in OR between students majoring in art and those majoring in science in high school. Regression analysis indicates that GPA is the most significant predictor of students' performance in the OR course. Originality/value: This paper is first study to examine the influence of a number of factors on students' performance in the OR course in the developing countries in general and the UAE in particular. It has implications for both decision makers and academicians.