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Effects of workload allocation per course on students’ academic outcomes: Evidence from STEM degrees

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  • Aina, Carmen
  • Aktaş, Koray
  • Casalone, Giorgia

Abstract

We investigate how the allocation of workload across university courses affects students’ outcomes. Using a difference-in-differences design, we provide novel evidence that reducing the number of courses in a degree, while keeping the total course work unchanged, strongly reduces students’ performance and increases first-year dropout rates. We show procrastination accounts for these effects, suggesting that students struggle to adjust their study time to handle the intensified courses. We also show that the adverse impacts on dropouts are significantly stronger for students from less affluent families, indicating that the reform likely increases inequality. On the other hand, post-reform graduates exhibit better labor market outcomes. The discussion on potential mechanisms suggests that the reform enhanced the skills of the graduates who successfully navigated the unified exams.

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  • Aina, Carmen & Aktaş, Koray & Casalone, Giorgia, 2024. "Effects of workload allocation per course on students’ academic outcomes: Evidence from STEM degrees," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:90:y:2024:i:c:s092753712400054x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102559
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Number of courses; University dropout; Graduation; Credits per course; Intensity of workload; Procrastination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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