Establishing class size policies for optimal course outcomes in online undergraduate education programs

2023/05/31 by Norman P. Gibbs, Edward F. Sloat, Audrey Amrein‐Beardsley +3 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #School Choice and Performance #Innovations in Educational Methods #Online and Blended Learning

paper · doi:10.1080/03075079.2023.2216725

openalex publication_date 2023/05/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

The long-term shift toward online learning over the past two decades was greatly accelerated by COVID-19, heightening the urgency in higher education for policies meant to better optimize online environments for student learning. The determination of class sizes for online courses is one such policy. In this hierarchical linear regression of undergraduate students’ grades in online courses (n = 6,615), we found a significant but negligible positive relationship between section size and students’ final grades. Among other findings, we found little evidence to conclude that class size policies have any substantive relationship to students’ end-of-course grades in online environments.

Citations

• The effects of class size on student grades at a public university
• Determinants of intercultural adjustment among expatriate spouses

Discussions

• "[W]e found a significant but negligible positive relationship between section size and students’ final grades" (n=6,615). Gibbs, N. P., et al. (2023). Establishing class size policies for optimal co [bsky, 0 points, 2 comments]