Abstract
Purpose: This study examines how undergraduate business student grades changed before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic using a large institutional dataset from a business college in a US university between 2015 and 2024.
Method: The analysis includes over 390,000 student-course observations and incorporates instructional modality, student demographics, course characteristics, and prior academic performance.
Results: Results show a substantial increase in mean course grades during the COVID-19 period, followed by a partial reversion post-pandemic to levels that remain above pre-pandemic trends. These patterns are consistent across modalities, demographics, and departments.
Implications: The findings raise important questions regarding the interpretation of grades as measures of learning and highlight the need for business schools to reconsider assessment practices in increasingly hybrid learning environments.
Keywords: COVID-19, Grades, Hybrid, Online, Teaching Methods, Grade Inflation.
Recommended Citation
Moodie, Douglas R.; Keefe, Alison; and Cheramie, Robin
(2026)
"How Grades Changed Before, During and After Covid-19 in a Business College,"
International Journal for Business Education: Vol. 168:
No.
1, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61403/2164-2885.1175
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/ijbe/vol168/iss1/2
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