Business school grades, assessment scores, and course withdrawals in the Covid-19 pandemic

We compare student performance before and during the Covid-19 pandemic using three course outcome measures: grades, scores on standardized course-specific assessment tests, and the incidence of dropping, withdrawing, or earning a grade of F. Across 10,000 observations and all business disciplines, grades trended higher throughout pandemic, although student performance on assessment tests and the incidence of failing or dropping remained unchanged. This suggests that universities and employers who use GPA as a screening tool should be cautious. First-year and first-generation students did significantly worse in online courses when compared to courses with some in-person element, suggesting that universities and instructors may need to devote academic support resources to these subgroups. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The relationship among stressors and mental health and the impact on grade point average for doctoral students during a pandemic

The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study will be to explore the relationship between stressors and mental health, the impact mental health has on grade point average (GPA), and determine if stressors and mental health moderate GPA for doctoral students during a pandemic. There is evidence that stress impacts mental health and school performance;however, there is little data based on doctoral students. Participants were recruited via a recruitment flyer sent out to all doctoral students attending The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Southern California campuses. While additional factors need to be accounted for, this study found that having children had a statistically significant relationship with mental health while other stressors did not. The data provided evidence that there is a significant difference between participants who have children under the age of 18 and participants who do not regarding mental health scores. The other stressors, employment status, hours of sleep per night, hours spent a week completing homework, and contracting COVID-19, did not have a statistically significant relationship with mental health. The research also showed mental health does not impact GPA for doctoral students. However, results showed that having children under the age of 18 was a statistically significant predictor of GPA and that there was a relationship between mental health scores moderated by hours of sleep per night in predicting GPA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Quantitative analysis of impact of risk factors and learning modalities on urban high school student credit attainment and grade point average during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2021

This study examined how traditionally least advantaged populations of urban American midwestern high school students were affected by the pandemic compared to non-least advantaged peers. Previous literature recognized achievement gaps between students in the following groups prior to the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) traditionally least advantaged ethnicities (Hanushek et al., 2019;Ladson-Billings, 2006;Noguera, 2009), (b) students with special needs (Cohodes, 2018;Gilmour et al., 2019;Noguera, 2009), (c) students whose native language was different from the language predominantly spoken at school or English language learners (Fry, 2008;Garcia et al., 2012;Hyock, 2001) and students coming from low socioeconomic households (Chamielewski, 2019;Hanushek et al., 2019;Ladson-Billings, 2006;Noguera, 2009) in comparison to their peers not represented in the aforementioned sub-populations. Also, students not obtaining sufficient credits each semester to stay on pace for graduation have been identified as having a predictor of students not graduating (Allensworth & Easton, 2007;Heppen et al., 2017;Herlihy, 2007). Students were grouped by levels of low, medium, and high At-Riskness to determine if there was a significant correlation and/or difference between student achievement rates before and during the pandemic on credits earned and grade-point averages (GPAs) each semester. The data showed that as students accumulate at-risk factors their achievement declined, during the pandemic there was a disproportionate decline in achievement by the most at-risk. This study calls for a re-examination of how to educate through crisis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Analyzing the academic achievement of secondary virtual learners during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods case study

Secondary students from a mid-sized school district in the rural Midwest who had chosen an asynchronous learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed to determine predictors of academic achievement and perceptions of their learning during the pandemic. An explanatory, mixed methods case study was conducted to sequentially analyze quantitative data and qualitatively analyze their experiences. Archival data from 288 students [F(7, 281) = 20.87, p < .001] was used predict grade point average (GPA) during virtual learning (M = 2.43, SD = 0.89) using a multiple linear regression (R2 = .326). This study was done to determine what factors help educators understand the variables that aide in student achievement while virtual learning. Predictor variables included race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, grade level, past attendance, past GPA, and number of parents/guardians in the home. Significant predictors were grade level, past GPA (M = 3.05), and sex. The focus of the qualitative research was on access to technology, digital literacy, attitude, motivation, and social connectedness prior to, during, and post-virtual learning. Four themes emerged. Results from this study suggest that schools should consider the type of virtual environment they provide, instructional design that includes social interaction, and professional development for staff prior to implementation of a virtual learning environment to increase achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes towards Online Counseling since the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has left tertiary students feeling anxious, stressed, and depressed. As a result, online counseling is a new option for students seeking counseling to alleviate stress and anxiety. The aims of this study were to 1) investigate undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2) compare the attitudes of undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University towards online counseling since the COVID-19 pandemic, classified by gender, academic year, grade point average (GPA), faculty, experience in face-to-face counseling, and experience in online counseling. The participants were 417 undergraduate students from Mahasarakham University who were selected by using a convenient sampling method. The research instrument was the questionnaire on undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling. The researcher used percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA to analyze the data. The findings indicated that the undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling were at a high level. Further, the undergraduate students' attitudes towards online counseling were statistically significant differences at a level of p<0.01 attributed to the variables of genders and GPAs.

Health Literacy and Preventive Behaviors of Undergraduate University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The situation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is full of unpredictability, uncertainty about the severity of the disease, and incorrect information. Therefore, health literacy preparation is the key to preventing COVID-19 and having the correct health behaviors. The objectives of this study were 1) to study health literacy on COVID-19 and prevention behaviors of COVID-19 among undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University, and 2) to compare health literacy on COVID-19 and prevention behaviors of COVID-19 among undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University, classified by genders, academic years, grade point averages (GPAs), and faculty groups. The participants were 417 undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University chosen by stratified random sampling and simple random sampling. The research instruments were as follows: the questionnaire on health literacy on COVID-19 and the questionnaire on COVID-19 prevention's behavior. The data were analyzed using percentage (%), mean (M), standard deviation (S.D.), independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed that 1) undergraduate students were well versed in health literacy for the COVID-19 infection and their prevention behaviors of COVID-19 infection were at a good level (M = 90.06, S.D. = 9.54, M = 86.87, S.D. = 11.50) and 2) female undergraduate students had statistically higher mean scores on COVID-19 health literacy scores and COVID-19 prevention's behaviors than males. Students from the health sciences faculty group had statistically significantly higher average health literacy scores on COVID-19 infection than those from the technology sciences faculty group.

What Happened during COVID-19? Instructional Setting as a Predictor of Students' Academic Achievement

Our goal in the current study was to identify the degree to which instructional setting (remote versus traditional) predicted students' academic achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic. A matched sample of data from 194 undergraduate students who were continuously enrolled at a private university in the southeastern United States from the spring semester of 2020 through the spring semester of 2021 was selected for this study. Data from students enrolled remotely across 37 majors were matched by sex, enrollment status, and Spring 2020 GPA. Our findings showed that neither instructional setting, students' sex, nor the number of hours they attempted were important predictors of students' academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the academic performance of students enrolled remotely on average remained unchanged from Spring 2020 through Spring 2021. Incidentally, our results revealed that the preceding academic performance was the only important predictor of students' academic achievement during this period. This finding confirms former research on the role that previous performance plays in the academic performance of undergraduate students.

Meeting the educational needs of academically superior university students during the emergency full shift to distance education in response to the coronavirus crisis (covid-19): Analytical descriptive investigation at Jazan University college of education

This study aimed to identify the level of which the educational needs of academically superior university students were met in college of education at Jazan University during the emergency full shift to distance education in response to the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19). To achieve this aim, the descriptive method was used by designing a questionnaire and distributing it to a sample of academically superior students according to the Grade Point Average (male and female students who have a GPA higher than 4.5) to obtain their views on the extent to which some of the recommended practices in meeting educational needs have been achieved in a such emergency situation represented by the spread of the Coronavirus. The results of the study showed overall that the practices of meeting educational needs were at a moderate level (73%), with a statistically significant difference at the level of 0.05 between male and female students in estimating the level such practices demonstrated for meeting their educational needs, as well as, differences with a statistical significance also were found among the academic departments. The Department of Special Education and the Department of Kindergarten appeared at a higher level in meeting educational needs according to students’ views, the study sample, compared to the Physical Education and the Department of Art Education. Accordingly, implications were discussed, conclusions were drawn, and suggestions were presented for future plans to improve practices and ensure the efficiency of teaching and evaluation in similar emergency situations. [ FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of the impact of distance learning on course failures and GPAs of sophomore students in a suburban high school

The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools nationwide to open the 2019-2020 school year with educational options for students and parents. Distance learning has become increasingly popular with the ability to learn anytime and anywhere. Traditional learning provides face-to-face instruction with the ability for collaboration among students. This quantitative study compared the impact of virtual or face-to-face instruction on students' progress towards high school graduation. Specifically, this study investigated the effect the two instructional models had on course failures, grade point average, and attendance. Lastly, this study investigated the influence a tiered two intervention, Extended School Day, had on students identified as Off-Track students who had earned less than the required credits and had a grade point average below 2.0. Unpaired, two-tailed t-tests were used to determine the instructional model's impact on course failures, absenteeism, and grade point average. Archival data from a suburban high school from the 2019- 2020 school year was analyzed. The results showed that distance education students accumulated less course failures and better grade point averages for semester one. The results shifted towards traditional learning for semester two, and a Fisher Exact test was used to calculate the effect Extended School Day had on Off-Track students. The results demonstrated this two-tiered intervention benefitted those who attended by decreasing course failures thus increasing grade point average. These results suggested that distance education provided a better learning environment for students during the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. However, traditional education impacted students more positively during the second semester. Therefore, distance education may be a good option during times of emergency, but it cannot be the only option for all students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Comparing Student Outcomes From Four Iterations of an Engineering Learning Community

This Complete Evidence-based Practice paper evaluates the impact of learning communities on the academic success of first-year engineering students. The Engineering Learning Community (ELC) at a large urban university is a program that purposefully recruits talented high school applicants with financial need. The ELC enrolls these applicants into cohort-specific sections of classes and provides mentoring and additional resources for the students' first year of college. The results of the first three years of the ELC program were presented at ASEE 2020. Currently in its fifth year, the ELC program has undergone numerous revisions and improvements based upon student and faculty feedback, best practices, and increased financial resources. The main feature of the fourth year ELC program is the addition of up to $20,000 in scholarship from a S-STEM NSF award. Another significant change in the fourth year is the re-design of the mentorship program. COVID-19 hit in the second semester of the fourth year of ELC and added its own challenges to the program. The impact of COVID-19 on the students' response to the pandemic has been studied as well. To take a first look at the efficacy of the ELC program over four iterations, grade point averages (GPAs) of ELC students from each cohort were compared. We hypothesize that students from cohort 4 will have the highest overall GPA given that they have accessed the most recent iteration of the ELC, which includes scholarship funding, improved student-to-mentor ratios and a newly redesigned special topics course. Analysis of Variance of GPAs reveals that cohort 4 has a significantly higher GPA after one year in the ELC than cohorts 2 and 3, but no significant differences between other cohorts were found. Further analysis shows no significant differences in high school GPA between the cohorts, indicating that the improvements in cohort 4 are not due changes in recruiting practices. Additionally, ELC cohort 4 showed greater academic resiliency during COVID-19 than their non-ELC counterparts, as revealed through statistically significant lower utilization of the modified grading policy, as well as higher observed completion rates in Spring 2020. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Investigation into Online Learning Readiness of Higher Education Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to investigate the online learning readiness of learners and to examine this readiness according to various variables. The descriptive survey model was used in this study. The data of the study were collected from 1963 higher education students who participated voluntarily according to the convenience sampling method. Demographic information form and online learning readiness scale were used as data collection tools. The pandemic period academic grade point means of students constitute their academic achievement for this study. MANOVA was used to investigate whether the demographic variables influenced the readiness sub-factor mean scores of the students. One factor ANOVA was used to determine whether the academic achievements of the students differ significantly according to their readiness levels. In this study, it was observed that the students had moderate-level readiness, but they were close to the high-level limit. It was observed that gender, education level and the faculty/college were effective on readiness while the grade level and the type of education were not effective. Learners who have a personal computer, internet connection or smart mobile phone are more ready for online learning. In addition, students with a high level of readiness got academically more successful. Readiness is crucial in the success of the experiences and activities to be performed in the online learning environment. Increasing the technological facilities and computer use, the competence of learners will increase online learning readiness and academic success.