Does Time Spent Online have an Influence on Student Performance? Evidence for a Large Business Studies Class

Abstract

This paper examines, using regression modelling, whether a statistically significant relationship exists between the time spent by a student using the course website and the student’s assessment performance for a large third year university business forecasting course. We utilise the online tracking system in Blackboard, a web-based software system, to extract and calculate the time spent by each student on a range of specific online assessment activities across the entire semester. The evidence suggests that time spent online on the course website is associated with higher assessment performance.