Measuring Performance in DPB 50113 Business Finance Continuous Assessments Courses: Comparison Between Two Different Semesters

Abstract

Malaysian Polytechnic is offering the Business Finance course as the core paper which is compulsory to marketing students for Diploma in Marketing. Business finance courses are newly introduced for Diploma in marketing students replacing Business Mathematics courses. This course was implemented for the first time for second semester students and after one semester it was revised and offered to fourth semester students. After 2 semesters the Polytechnic Curriculum Department revised it again and offered it back to second semester students. This paper objective is to measure the performance of two different semesters, which are second semester and fourth semester with the same set of questions such as quizzes, tests, assignment and case study throughout the semester and the result will be shared and presented to Polytechnic Curriculum Department as a guide to determine which semester is more appropriate to offer to marketing students. The Business Finance courses are quite challenging for marketing students since the requirement to enroll in a Diploma in Marketing does not require a student to achieve credit scoring in a mathematical subject in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) compared to another diploma offered in Malaysian Polytechnic. Two classes in session II 2022/2023 are included in this research and the continuous assessment score is being extracted from Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Politeknik (SPMP) in the I-Exam module. The method used is comparative study which analyzes the continuous assessment result for the semester and compares it to each other. This research shows that the fourth semester students are adapting well and their performance in continuous assessment marks are better than second semester students. The main factor that contributes to these results is the maturity and experience of fourth semester students are better compared to second year students which helps them to initiate creative thinking in solving the problem in continuous assessments tasks and notes taking sessions.