A Decade of Evolution: Evaluating Student Preferences for Degree Selection in the Spanish Public University System Through Directional Community Analysis (2014–2023)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The Spanish Public University System (SUPE) assigns student placements through a multi-step application process governed by legal criteria. Analyzing how students move between different degree programs during this process is crucial for universities to optimize and plan their academic offerings. This paper analyzes a decade of student pre-registration data (2014–2023) to track evolving preferences and mobility between degrees. We model this process as a directed graph, mapping student traffic and studying the formation of directional communities within the degree network. A significant challenge is the weakly connected and poorly conditioned nature of these graphs, which impedes standard community detection algorithms. Extending prior work that relied on manually set thresholds for pruning edges, we propose a novel adaptive pruning algorithm that requires no manual intervention. Applying this method to annual data improves community detection performance and reveals gradual shifts in student preferences and demand, particularly in response to new degrees. These insights provide a valuable decision-making tool for higher education institutions, helping them refine their degree offerings in response to evolving trends.
Source: Analytics
Institution: Universitat Politècnica de València
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W7134947352