Presented By: Shyam Nair, Sam Houston State University
Co-Authors: Alisha Bullion, Sam Houston State University
Danhong Chen, Sam Houston State University
Art Wolfskill, Sam Houston State University

Demand for online and hybrid classes has increased significantly in the post COVID-19 era. Online courses provide students with the convenience of self-paced learning, reduce commuting time, and allow those who get easily distracted in a classroom to engage in learning without such distractions. Although modern technology and tools allow online classes to be more engaging, students miss out on real-time interactions with instructors and peers. Additionally, the self-paced nature of online courses is harder on procrastinators. This study compared student performance in the same course with the same instructor during eight semesters as both face-to-face and online courses, analyzing learning differences between the two delivery methods. The dataset consisted of average homework scores, exam scores, scores for a student-created video, final course average, and letter grade for 120 face-to-face and 40 online students from an undergraduate introductory agribusiness marketing class at [UNIVERSITY]. We assessed the differences within each categories using Student's t-tests. The results showed that average homework scores of students in the face-to-face classes were 8.78 points higher than scores from online classes (p<0.01). Average exam scores for face-to-face students were 7.13 points higher (p=0.01). Scores for a student created video were also significantly higher (p<0.01) in face-to-face classes compared to online classes by 10.72 points. Because of the higher performance in all categories, the average final grade for face-to-face classes was 9.16 points (essentially a full letter grade) higher than online classes (p<0.01). We make several normative recommendations based on this outcome. Course instructors should include instruction on time management in the initial online course modules. Additionally, previous research has linked late initial course engagement with lower final grades. Instructors should attempt to identify and pay special attention to students who are not self-starters, as indicated by delayed engagement with the first modules of the online course.