Introduction:

International organizations have drawn attention to the idea of adapting learning to fit the graduates’ skills and competences to the current requirements of labor market. Therefore, reaching a deep learning of academic contents along with developing creative ability for problem solving emerges as a desirable goal to be reached.

Objective:

The study was aimed at analyzing the Deep and Surface learning approaches as well as creativity -comprising the creative process and the creative personality- by socio-demographic and academic variables in college students.

Method:

A non-experimental and cross-sectional design was conducted, entailing two studies: a group differences one and another, explanatory. The sample was composed of 301 college students attending two majors -Psychology (51 %) and Engineering (49 %).

Results:

Significant differences in the use of learning approaches were found; women used the Deep approach more often whereas men chose the Surface approach. As for creativity, men showed statistically significant differences in creative personality over women. The creative process arose more often in Psychology students when compared with Engineering undergraduates, with significant p-values. Academic Perfomance was negatively explained by the Surface approach (β=-0,276) and positively, by the creative process (β=0,185).

Conclusions:

Boosting Academic Perfomance requires a major adjustment in teaching and evaluation methods. They should be aimed at discouraging the use of the Surface approach whilst promoting the occurrence of creative processes in students. Moreover, such changes in educational practices should be focused on improving Deep learning and creativity in order to make the graduates’ skills more suitable for current labor market requirements.

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