IMPROVEMENT IN TRANSPORTATION AND PERFORMANCE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE CASE OF CIRCLE LINE

Abstract

In a typical Singapore university, one would realise that the number of students attending lectures is usually lower in the morning compared to other periods of the day. Transportation is one factor that influences attendance decisions. Limited researches have been done on the association between topic of transportation and education. Focusing on local undergraduates, the study concentrates on the newly launched Circle Line to investigate the interaction between improvement in transportation and performance of university students, in terms of students’ frequency of skipping class and academic performance by observing students’ CAP/GPA Score. Improvement in public transportation might generate a twofold effect on the performance of university students, either directly or indirectly. Chi-square and binomial tests suggest that there is a possible direct association between improvement in transportation and the performance of university students. Moreover, statistically significant relationships are detected to establish that school attendance forms the intermediate determinant that links improvement in transportation with the performance of university students. Hence, the indirect association between improvement in public transportation and the performance of university students has been determined. These findings are important as it allows urban planners and educators to understand the importance of public transportation towards the academic performance of university students. Therefore, it also ascertains the fact that it is essential to have an MRT station in the university campus so as to maximize the overall academic performance of university students.