Is Online Education Working?

This study examines the impact of instruction modality on student learning outcomes, with a focus on disparities observed pre- and post-pandemic. Using administrative data from a public university spanning seven pre-pandemic and five post-pandemic semesters, the analysis controls for endogenous sorting using fixed effects. The findings suggest that face-to-face (FtF) instruction results in better student performance, such as higher grades and a lower withdrawal rate. Additionally, students with greater exposure to FtF instruction are less likely to repeat courses, more likely to graduate on time, and achieve higher GPAs. The study also shows that the FtF advantage has been decreasing over time, and the differences are smaller post-pandemic. The results are consistent across student and instructor characteristics, except for Honors and graduate students, where the FtF advantage is either smaller or statistically insignificant.