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Reserve Officers' Training Corps Demands, Academic Integration, and Academic Performance among First-Year Criminology Students

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DOI 10.70211/dlhd.v1i1.7
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Abstract

This study examined how perceived Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) demands relate to academic performance during the first-year transition to higher education. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design involved 61 first-year criminology students at World Citi Colleges in academic year 2025-2026. Perceived ROTC demands were measured with a 30-item, four-point Likert questionnaire covering time commitment, physical demands, and academic integration; academic performance was obtained from official registrar records. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations were used. Students reported substantial time commitment (M = 3.06, SD = 0.61) and physical demands (M = 2.89, SD = 0.72), alongside strong academic integration (M = 3.27, SD = 0.40). Overall perceived burden was inversely associated with academic performance (r = -0.718, p < .001) and family income (r = -0.286, p = .025). Academic performance was positively associated with physical-demand scores (r = 0.842, p < .001) and academic integration (r = 0.455, p < .001), while time commitment was not significant (r = 0.206, p = .111). The findings distinguish burden from educational integration and indicate that intensive co-curricular programs should be evaluated by both their demands and their alignment with learning.

 

IMPACT STATEMENT

Intensive co-curricular programs can be simultaneously demanding and educationally meaningful. In this cohort, overall ROTC burden was greater among lower-performing and lower-income students, whereas academic integration was positively associated with academic performance. The broader implication is not that greater military workload improves achievement, but that educational value depends on how institutional demands are aligned with learning and supported by student resources. Colleges can apply this principle by coordinating schedules, strengthening curricular relevance, and identifying students who experience disproportionate burden during the transition to higher education.

Keywords

Reserve Officers' Training Corps academic integration academic performance co-curricular learning higher-education transition

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Author Biographies

Anicia S. Velasco

World Citi Colleges Philippines

Dr. Anicia S. Velasco is currently a professor and research consultant at World Citi Colleges Guimba Campus. She completed her bachelor's degree in Secondary education major in Physics minor in Mathematics at Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. She did her Master’s Degree - Master of Arts in Education Major in General Science at Wesleyan University Philippines. She obtained her Doctor of Education in Educational Management at Lyceum-Northwestern University, Dagupan City. She has published educational research studies as a multidisciplinary researcher. She took part in numerous local and international research conferences.

Jennica Venice T. Castillo

World Citi Colleges Philippines

Jennica Venice Toledo Castillo is currently a full-time instructor at the College of Criminology-World Citi Colleges Guimba Campus. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Criminology at Tarlac State University-Tarlac City. She is currently enrolled in her Master’s Degree - Master of Science in Criminal Justice with Specialization in Criminology at Angeles University Foundation-Angeles City, Pampanga.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Anicia S. Velasco, Jennica Venice T. Castillo

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Published

2026-06-30

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Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): June 2026

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