Student success and satisfaction

Last registered on March 13, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Student success and satisfaction
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011049
Initial registration date
March 07, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 13, 2023, 1:58 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Ruhr University Bochum
PI Affiliation
Ruhr University Bochum

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-11-01
End date
2023-03-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study analyses the effect of an information treatment on undergraduate students’ performance, learning behavior, and satisfaction.
As part of an introductory course at a large German university, students receive randomly either a publicly available information on required learning intensity – or on loan periods at the library. Students are then tracked over their entire undergraduate course including their course-specific learning effort and their exam performance. Thereby, the study ascertains whether the provision of information at an early stage can affect academic performance.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hertweck, Friederike, Melissa Kistner and Deborah Maffia. 2023. "Student success and satisfaction." AEA RCT Registry. March 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11049-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We provide participants with either an information on required study effort or on loan charges as part of an online survey.
Intervention (Hidden)
During the third lecture, students are asked to participate in an online survey. All students are randomly assigned into a treatment and a control group with a 50% probability each (simple randomization). The treatment group receives information regarding the curricular required number of hours for studying (including non-supervised learning). The control group receives information on loan periods in the university library – which is not related to the curricular required learning effort.
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-08
Intervention End Date
2022-12-13

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcome variable is a student’s activity on an online learning platform during the winter term 2022/23. Further outcome variables are the number of his/her exam registrations as well as the ultimate exam performance at the end of the winter term 2022/23.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes are changes in student behavior and student satisfaction.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention is carried out as part of a lecture at a large German university. At the beginning of the first lecture, all students receive a leaflet that informs about the fact that a scientific study on learning and study satisfaction will take place during the lectures. This information will also be communicated to the students via an online learning platform (“Moodle”) to which all students register when they start the course. The intervention starts in lecture 3 with a reminder in one of the subsequent lectures. Data analysis will start once all data for the winter term 2022/23 is available, i.e., approximately in May 2023.
Experimental Design Details
The intervention on learning intensity is carried out as part of a lecture at Ruhr University Bochum. At the beginning of the first lecture, all students receive a leaflet that informs about the fact that a scientific study on learning and study satisfaction will take place during the lectures. This information will also be communicated to the students via an online learning platform (“Moodle”) to which all students register when they start the course.
During the third lecture, students are asked to participate in an online survey. All students are randomly assigned into a treatment and a control group with a 50% probability each (simple randomization). The treatment group receives information regarding the curricular required number of hours for studying (including non-supervised learning). The control group receives information on loan periods in the university library – which is not related to the curricular required learning effort. In a follow-up online survey, the treatment and control group are reminded of the previously conveyed information. Data analysis will start once all data for the winter term 2022/23 is available, i.e., approximately in May 2023.
Randomization Method
Simple randomization, done by algorithm within an online survey
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
600
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The minimum detectable effect size is 0.27 standard deviations with 600 participants and an average Moodle activity of 3.81 hours per week (with standard deviation of 2.27). The mean and standard deviations are based on a short and not representative survey of 104 students taking the same course in the fall semester 2021/22.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ruhr-University Bochum Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-09-14
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials