logo logo International Journal of Educational Methodology

IJEM is a leading, peer-reviewed, open access, research journal that provides an online forum for studies in education, by and for scholars and practitioners, worldwide.

Subscribe to

Receive Email Alerts

for special events, calls for papers, and professional development opportunities.

Subscribe

Publisher (HQ)

RHAPSODE
Eurasian Society of Educational Research
College House, 2nd Floor 17 King Edwards Road, Ruislip, London, HA4 7AE, UK
RHAPSODE
Headquarters
College House, 2nd Floor 17 King Edwards Road, Ruislip, London, HA4 7AE, UK
Research Article

A Descriptive Study on the Effects of Modality and Covid-19 on Academic Performance by Demographic Groups

Douglas R. Moodie , Alison Keefe , Robin A. Cheramie

Analysis of student grades and demographic data to understand the effects of modality and Covid-19 on academic performance is important for universiti.


  • Pub. date: August 15, 2025
  • Online Pub. date: August 09, 2025
  • Pages: 443-465
  • 22 Downloads
  • 40 Views
  • 0 Citations

How to Cite

Abstract:

A

Analysis of student grades and demographic data to understand the effects of modality and Covid-19 on academic performance is important for universities to understand the impact these factors may have on course grades. This study analyzes all the 615,964 complete undergraduate student-course records from Kennesaw State University (KSU) spanning from 2015 to 2024 to examine the impact of course modality and the Covid-19 pandemic on academic performance. The population dataset includes student demographics (e.g., sex, age, ethnicity), prior GPA, and course characteristics (e.g., department, modality). Descriptive statistics and trend analyses were employed to evaluate grade outcomes across in-person, online, and hybrid modalities over the 9-year period. Results indicate a temporary increase in mean course grades during the Covid-19 period, followed by a return to the pre-pandemic upward trend. Hybrid courses consistently exhibited the highest mean grades throughout the study period. However, consistent patterns across modalities, demographics, and academic units suggest that these factors have limited influence on grade outcomes. These findings raise questions about the reliability of GPA and course grades as indicators of learning success across different instructional contexts and student populations.

Keywords: Covid-19, grades, hybrid, online, teaching modalities.

description PDF
file_save XML
Article Metrics
Views
22
Download
40
Citations
Crossref
0

References

Acheampong, J. O. (2023). The impact of COVID-19 on students’ academic performance: The case of the university of Ghana business school. Cogent Education, 10(1), Article 2186011. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2023.2186011

‌Alwarthan, S. A., Aslam, N., & Khan, I. U. (2022). Predicting student academic performance at higher education using data mining: A systematic review. Applied Computational Intelligence and Soft Computing, 2022(1), Article 8924028. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/8924028

Andrews, D. R., No, S., Powell, K. K., Rey, M. P., & Ghebreyesus, G. (2022). Student and faculty preferences regarding instructional modalities at an HBCU business school as a result of Covid-19 – a change management approach and mindset. Southwestern Business Administration Journal, 20(1), Article 5. http://bit.ly/46zTh95

Baklavas, G., & Krassas, I. (2024). Investigating the effect in different delivery and assessment modes due to Covid-19 within specific academic divisions. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 971-979). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/224616/

Barton, A. (2022, October 3). Grade inflation: What goes up must come down. The Harvard Crimson. https://bit.ly/3GWylPa

Baum, S., & McPherson, M. (2019). The human factor: The promise & limits of online education. Daedalus148(4), 235-254. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01769

Biel, R., & Brams, C. J. (2016). Traditional versus online biology courses: Connecting course design and student learning in an Online setting, Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 17(3), 417-422. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v17i3.1157

Blau, G., & Drennan, R. (2017). Exploring differences in business undergraduate perceptions by preferred classroom delivery mode. Online Learning, 21(3), 222-234. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v21i3.973 

Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. (1998). The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of considering race in college and university admissions.  Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400882793

Bowen, W. G., Chingos, M. M., & McPherson, M. S. (2009). Crossing the Finish line. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400831463

Brändle, T., & Lengfeld, H. (2017). Drifting apart or converging? Grades among non-traditional and traditional students over the course of their studies: A case study from Germany. Higher Education, 73, 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0010-3

‌Brau, M., Christian, S., Hill, B., McNair, Sandoz, S., & Taylor, C (2010). Success and retention in online and hybrid courses. Lane Community College. 

Butt, S., Mahmood, A., Saleem, S., Murtaza, S. A., Hassan, S., & Molnár, E. (2023). The contribution of learner characteristics and perceived learning to students’ satisfaction and academic performance during COVID-19. Sustainability15(2), Article 1348. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021348

‌Campbell, C. M., & Cabrera, A. F. (2014). Making the mark: Are grades and deep learning related? Research in Higher Education55, 494-507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9323-6

‌Cannady, F. (2010). Age and GPA of college students. Salt Lake Community College. http://bit.ly/46uzkQW

Carper, K., & Friedel, C. (2021). Systems thinking and hybrid learning: Findings for improving teaching in the COVID-19 era. NACTA Journal, 65, 144-155. www.jstor.org/stable/27157896

Cavanaugh, J. K., & Jacquemin, S. J. (2015). A large sample comparison of grade-based student learning outcomes in online vs. face-to-face courses. Online Learning19(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v19i2.454

‌Cognard-Black, A. J., Herron, J., & Smith, P. J. (2019). The demonstrable value of honors education: New research evidence. National Collegiate Honors Councils. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcmono/34/

Darkwa, B. F., & Antwi, S. (2021). From classroom to online: Comparing the effectiveness and student academic performance of classroom learning and online learning. Open Access Library Journal, 8(7), Article e7597. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107597

‌Di Pietro, G. (2023). The impact of Covid-19 on student achievement: Evidence from a recent meta-analysis. Educational Research Review39, Article 100530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100530

El Refae, G., Kaba, A., & Eletter, S. (2021). The impact of demographic characteristics on academic performance: Face-to-face learning versus distance learning implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning22(1), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i1.5031

‌El Said, G. R. (2021). How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect higher education learning experience? An empirical investigation of learners’ academic performance at a university in a developing country. Advances in Human-Computer Interaction2021(1), Article 6649524. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6649524

‌Engelhardt, B., Johnson, M., & Siemers, S. (2022). Business school grades, assessment scores, and course withdrawals in the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Education for Business, 98(4),199-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2022.2109563

‌Fang, J., Pechenkina, E., & Rayner, G. M. (2023). Undergraduate business students’ learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights for remediation of future disruption. The International Journal of Management Education21(1), Article 100763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100763

‌Fidalgo-Blanco, Á., Sein-Echaluce, M. L., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2020). Hybrid flipped classroom: Adaptation to the COVID situation. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality (pp. 405- 409). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3434780.3436691

‌Gnaur, D., Hindhede, A. L., & Andersen, V. H. (2020). Towards hybrid learning in higher education in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. In C. Busch, M. Steinicke, & T. Wendler (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL 2020 (pp. 205-211). Academic Conferences International (ACI). 

Holmes, D. L., & Slate, J. R. (2017). Differences in GPA by gender and ethnicity/race as a function of first-generation status for community college students. Global Journal of Human-Social Science, 17(3), 1-5. http://bit.ly/3GQkzh3

Huntington-Klein, N., & Gill, A. (2020). Semester course load and student performance. Research in Higher Education62, 623-650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-020-09614-8

Irani-Kermani, R., Chen, D., Wolfskill, L. A., Nair, S. S., & Bullion, A. N. (2021). Students’ perceptions in a hybrid learning model during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. NACTA Journal, 65, 132-143. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27157895

‌Karadag, E. (2021). Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on grade inflation in higher education in Turkey. PLOS ONE16(8), Article e0256688. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256688

‌Karadag, E., & Dortyol, I. T. (2024). Evidence of grade inflation in Bachelor of Business Administration degrees in Turkey for the period from 2002 to 2022. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, Article 352. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02868-y

‌Karas, A. (2021). The effect of class size on grades and course evaluations: Evidence from multisection courses. Bulletin of Economic Research, 73(4), 624-642. https://doi.org/10.1111/boer.12274

‌ Massey, D. S., Durand, J., & Malone, N. (2003). Beyond smoke and mirrors: Mexican immigration in an era of economic integration. American Journal of Sociology, 109(1), 249-251. https://doi.org/10.1086/380880

Massey, D. S., & Probasco, L. (2010). Divergent streams. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race7(1), 219-246. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1742058x10000160

‌Moodie, D. R. (2021). Comparing the outcomes of the different teaching modes: All-in-person, hybrid, and online, for different student demographic groups in a business school. Online Learning, 25(4), 362-387. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i4.2298

Moodie, D. R. (2022). A case study in how different teaching methods affect different student demographics across a university. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 23(2), 1-34.

Nguyen, T. (2015). The effectiveness of online learning: Beyond no significant difference and future horizons. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 11(2), 309-319. http://bit.ly/4oeLi7v

‌Nortvig, A.-M., Peterson, A. K., & Balle, S. H. (2018). A literature review of the factors influencing e-learning and blended learning in relation to learning outcome, student satisfaction and engagement. The Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 16(1), 46-55.

Price, R. A., Arthur, T. Y., & Pauli, K. P. (2016). A comparison of factors affecting student performance and satisfaction in online, hybrid, and traditional courses. Business Education Innovation Journal, 8(2), 32-40. http://bit.ly/3HbpPMc

Sandars, J., Correia, R., Dankbaar, M., de Jong, P., Goh, P. S., Hege, I., Masters, K., Oh, S.-Y., Patel, R., Premkumar, K., Webb, A., & Pusic, M. (2020). Twelve tips for rapidly migrating to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. MedEdPublish9, Article 82. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000082.1

‌Schwab, K., Moseley, B., & Dustin, D. (2018). Grading Grades as a Measure of Student Learning. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education33(2), 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/1937156x.2018.1513276

Stearns, E. (2023). Transferring institutions in different modalities: Lessons from undergraduates across stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory and Practice, 27(2), 430-454. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251231179701

‌Sun, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Online education and its effective practice: A research review. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research15, 157-190. https://doi.org/10.28945/3502

‌Supriya, K., Mead, C., Anbar, A. D., Caulkins, J. L., Collins, J. P., Cooper, K. M., LePore, P. C., Lewis, T., Pate, A., Scott, R. A., & Brownell, S. E. (2021). Undergraduate biology students received higher grades during COVID-19 but perceived negative effects on learning. Frontiers in Education6, Article 59624. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.759624

‌Thamrin, T., Htatsuhut, S., Aditia, R., & Putri, F. R. (2022). The effectiveness of the hybrid learning materials with the application of problem-based learning model (Hybryd-PBL) to improve learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. IJORER: International Journal of Recent Educational Research, 3(1), 124-134. https://doi.org/10.46245/ijorer.v3i1.178

‌Thiele, T., Singleton, A., Pope, D., & Stanistreet, D. (2014). Predicting students’ academic performance based on school and socio-demographic characteristics. Studies in Higher Education, 41(8), 1424-1446. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.974528

‌Tillinghast, J. A., Mjelde, J. W., & Yeritsyan, A. (2023). COVID-19 and grade inflation: Analysis of undergraduate GPAs during the pandemic. SAGE Open13(4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231209110

‌Verde, A., & Valero, J. M. (2021). Teaching and learning modalities in higher education during the pandemic: Responses to coronavirus disease 2019 from Spain. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 648592. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648592

‌Xing, X., & Saghaian, S. (2022). Learning outcomes of a hybrid online virtual classroom and in-person traditional classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 14(9), Article 5263. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095263

‌Xu, D., & Jaggars, S. S. (2014). Performance gaps between online and face-to-face courses: Differences across types of students and academic subject areas. The Journal of Higher Education, 85(5), 633-659. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2014.11777343

‌Zollanvari, A., Kizilirmak, R. C., Kho, Y. H., & Hernandez-Torrano, D. (2017). Predicting students’ GPA and developing intervention strategies based on self-regulatory learning behaviors. IEEE Access, 5, 23792-23802. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2017.2740980

...