Extracurricular activities and their effect on the students grade point average: Statistical study

Extracurricular activities (ECA) are part of students’ everyday life; they play important roles in student’s lives. Few studies have addressed the question of how student engagements to ECA affect student's grade point average (GPA). This research was conducted to know whether the students’ grade point average in King Abdulaziz University, Faisaliah campus is affected by their participation in the ECA. This study also studied the students’ satisfaction on ECA. The study sample includes 239 students chosen via simple random sampling method. The study used inferential statistics to analyze this study design. To achieve the purpose of this study, a questionnaire (comprising 19 questions) was designed. The results showed that participation in ECA affects the students’ GPA in a positive way. The study found that those who participated in ECA have higher GPA than those who did not; the study also found that the time spent participating in ECA did not affect the time students usually spend on studying (the result showed there wasn't any relationship between them). Furthermore, the study showed that students, based on faculty, are generally satisfied with the available extracurricular activities in the campus. Key words: Extracurricular activities, student's GPA, ANOVA, MANOVA, non-parametric tests, Saudi Arabia.