From entry to excellence: Exploring relationships between admission pathways, disciplinary areas of study, and EAL international undergraduate students’ academic success in New Zealand

Abstract

This study aims to identify whether EAL international students’ academic success is related to their university entry pathways and disciplinary areas of study in an English-speaking context. Academic performance records, including Grade Point Average (GPA) scores and percentage of enrolled academic points achieved, of 511 English as an additional language (EAL) undergraduate students over a six-semester period of study were analysed at a university in New Zealand. The results indicated that students who commenced undergraduate studies by passing standardized English tests (e.g., IELTS) outperformed their counterparts in GPA, while those who completed an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme showed rapid academic adjustment after one semester of immersive study. Overall, students who were exempt from providing proof of English proficiency due to prior English-medium experience performed the lowest. Although no significant differences were found across disciplinary groups, students in science and engineering fields consistently performed better than their peers in both GPA and academic points achievement rate. Conversely, students in the architecture and design fields performed the lowest among all. The findings suggest that both university entry pathways and disciplinary areas are linked to the divergent academic performance of EAL students, with the relationship between entry pathways and their performance being more pronounced. The study suggests that, in addition to providing continuous academic support, it may be necessary to adjust admission requirements to ensure comparable learning outcomes among EAL international students.