Students are the primary stakeholders in educational institutions. Above anything else, the academic performance of students must be the top priority for all educators (Farooq et al.,2011). Academic performance is considered to be the center around which the whole education system revolves. Narad and Abdullah (2016) opined that the academic performance of students determines the success or failure of any academic institution. Signh, Malik and Signh (2016) also argued that the academic performance of students has a direct impact on the socioeconomic development of a country. Students’ performance and academic achievement play a significant role in producing the best quality graduates who will become great leaders and manpower for the country thus responsible for the country’s economic and social development (Ali et.al, 2009). Similarly, Farooq, Chaudhry, Shafiq, and Behanu (2011), asserted that students’ academic performance serves as a bedrock for knowledge acquisition and the development of skills.  

Academic performance is the knowledge gained which is assessed by marks by a teacher and/or educational goals set by students and teachers to be achieved over a specific period of time (Narad and Abdullah, 2016). Alyahyan and Dustegor (2020), emphasized that most literature uses the grades of internal assessment, particularly the Grade Point Average (GPA), or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) or the grade systems used by universities as an assessment scale of student performance as the same factors used to measure student academic performance. 

Student’s academic performance in higher education is affected by various socioeconomic, psychological, and environmental factors (Hijazi& Naqvi, 2006). This was proven in numerous researches conducted by educators and researchers related to the study. Ali et. al (2013) found daily study hours, the social economic status of parents/guardians, and age as factors that significantly affect academic performance. Similarly, Narad and Abdullah (2016) and Farooq et al., (2011) also found the economic status of parents, their educational background, and encouragement as factors that influence academic performance. Proper guidance from parents and teachers, communication skills, and learning facilities have also been found to be significant determinants of academic performance (Signh, Malik & Signh, 2016).

The findings from the previous studies are a combination of home, school, student, and teacher factors (Narad & Abdullah, 2016; Farooq, Chaudhry, Shafiq & Behanu, 2011) as well as environmental, personal, social, psychological, and economic factors (Sign, Malik & Sign, 2016; Ali et al. 2013). Other authors have also found that age, gender, and parent’s level of education affects academic performance (Khan, Iqbal & Tasneem, 2015; Eshetu, 2014). 

It is always in the best interest of educators to measure students’ academic performance. This allows them to evaluate not only students’ knowledge levels but also the effectiveness of their own teaching processes, and perhaps, provide a gauge of student satisfaction (Martirosyan et. al, 2014). In the seven-point agenda of the Mariano Marcos State University to ACHIEVE, first in the list is academic excellence which means the exemplary performance of students in both curricular and co-curricular activities.   Aligned to this agenda is the College of Business, Economics, and Accountancy's thrust to attain excellence, responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness in producing trained manpower who will assume leadership and responsibility in business, industry, and the government by boosting the academic performance of its students. The initial step of doing so is by assessing the academic performance of its students and by knowing and understanding the factors that affect their academic performance, hence this study.

Product. A comprehensive report on factors affecting the academic performance of graduates in the BS Economics program.

Paper Presentation. Results of the study are to be presented in the In-house Research Review and other research fora.

Social Impact. Improved academic performance of students.