Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2024
Abstract
online. In typical semesters, most courses offered at UNC are face-to-face, and a small portion are fully online. While online and face-to-face modalities clearly serve different purposes and have unique advantages, ratio of face-to-face vs. online courses at UNC suggest we generally think face-to-face courses are more effective. Additionally, during the 2020-2021 school year, when faced with offering nearly all classes fully online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the university began offering several classes in a hybrid modality (combination of online and face-to-face). The hybrid modality offered a middle ground between our preferred face-to-face modality and fully online courses. According to the department of Business Intelligence and Data Engineering (BIDE), the format of face-to-face is a still dominant modality (76%) in the most recent semester (Fall 2021). The graph below demonstrates varying performances across modalities in two lower-division economics courses: ECON 203: Principles of Macroeconomics and ECON 205: Principles of Microeconomics (15 sections total, 5 sections each across modality), which are part of the Liberal Arts Core (LAC) at UNC.
We investigate the modality factor and its effect on student performance in two introductory economics courses. In addition to examining modality, student characteristics are also of interest. By using different regression models, the data is analyzed to find whether modality affects student performance. The key findings of this mini-grant project are that not only modality but when the course is taken affects how students perform in different aspects of the course.
Recommended Citation
McMahan, Christopher; Park, Jun; and McDaniel, Kaylee, "The Effects of Class Modality and Student Demographics on Academic Performance" (2024). Assessment Mini Grant Reports. 10.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/assessmentgrant/10
Comments
2022-2023 Assessment Mini-Grant