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This study aimed at examining the relationship between the role of interpersonal competencies and students' academic performance in the education sector of Pakistan. Students of Public sector universities operating in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan were considered the population for the research. A stratified random sampling method was adopted for the selection of the sample. A survey method based on a questionnaire was applied for the collection of data. Before the conduction of the field survey, the validity of questionnaires was confirmed through a pilot study followed by an expertise review. A total of 328 questionnaires were administered and responses were received from 261 with duly filled questionnaires. The collected data was analyzed through SPSS and LISREL software. Analysis included Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Regression Analysis. CFA model fitness was evaluated based on seven fit indices and the model was significant and well fitted. Regression analysis was undertaken to examine the association amongst dependent variables and independent variables. Regression analysis values depict a positive significant association among communication skills and students' academic performance also show positive significant association among group/teamwork skills and students' academic performance. Students' findings were found consistent with previous studies conducted by (Latif 2006; Nasser, 2014; Nurmi, 2012; Korthagen, et al., 2014). The study recommended that at university level foundation course regarding the development of communication skills may be introduced to enhance the communication skills among students. It is also recommended that students may be engaged in interactive sessions for the development of their group/teamwork skills. The study further suggests that interactive seminars/workshops shall be arranged for students to exercise the importance of interpersonal competencies.

The academic success of foreign students in the United States depends heavily upon the selection process, which is an effort to predict whether the student will profit personally and for the countries involved through a period of study in an American university. Significant factors in the selection process include the demonstrated academic ability of the student, his English proficiency, the adequacy and reliabil ity of his financial resources, his adaptability to a strange en vironment and to a new role upon his return home, and the facilities of the university of his choice for satisfying his edu cational desires. A program of orientation and the availabil ity of adequate counseling services can assist the foreign stu dents in an important way in adapting to United States aca demic and other mores. Although, from the standpoint of grades, foreign students seem generally to perform on a par with American students, the grades assigned to foreign students are not always assigned on the same basis as to other students. Because grades in some form are almost universally accepted as a measure of academic achievement and professional poten tial, no double standard should be tolerated in giving grades or in awarding degrees. The reputation of United States edu cation depends upon accepting only high caliber exchange stu dents, sending only first-rate students abroad, including only universities with high standards in the exchange program, as sisting exchange students adequately in adjusting to new situa tions, overcoming any handicaps, and doing the best academic work of which they are capable, and awarding only degrees that have been earned.—Ed.

Many researchers have investigated the causes of students' poor academic performance in general. However, the extent to which students' individual characteristics affect their academic performance in mathematics has received little academic attention. This was the gap in literature the study sought to fill. The study adopted a convergent parallel mixed methods design involving three hundred and seventy-two (372) respondents in Sagnarigu Municipality of Northern Region, Ghana who were sampled through Simple Random Sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaire and interview guides were used to collect primary data. The analysis of the collected data revealed that: willingness to learn mathematics, perceptions that mathematics is a difficult subject, readiness for the use of mathematics teaching and learning materials available, relationship with mathematics teachers and attentiveness in mathematics lessons all affected students' academic performance in mathematics. It is therefore recommended that the various school management bodies could work with the Guidance and Counselling units to provide some form of support for students who are fearful of mathematics.

This paper investigates how legal cannabis access affects student performance. Identification comes from an exceptional policy introduced in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands that discriminated access via licensed cannabis shops based on an individual's nationality. We apply a difference-in-difference approach using administrative panel data on course grades of local students enrolled at Maastricht University before and during the partial cannabis prohibition. We find that the academic performance of students who are no longer legally permitted to buy cannabis substantially increases. Grade improvements are driven by younger students and the effects are stronger for women and low performers. In line with how cannabis consumption affects cognitive functioning, we find that performance gains are larger for courses that require more numerical/mathematical skills. Our investigation of underlying channels using course evaluations suggests that performance gains are driven by an improved understanding of the material rather than changes in students' study effort.