Student’s Attendance and Professor Imposed Requirements as Determinants of Academic Achievements

Lecture attendance is an endogenous factor that depends on student’s motivation and attitude toward the learning process. Homework assignments and midterm evaluation are exogenous requirements imposed by the lecturer in academic courses. It is widely spread conviction that these factors strongly influence the academic performance. This hypothesis is tested in classes taught in three consecutive academic years in two European universities with two different teaching systems – online and face-to-face learning. The first university is Bulgarian: the data are about autumn semesters of 2021 and of 2022. The second one is an Italian University during summer semester of 2023. The same courses were taught. Methods. The sample consists of three comparable sets of data of approximately 30 students each. Statistical tests and Poisson regression analyses are conducted using STATA software. The model proved a good fit to the observed data. Results. The findings of the Poisson regression model indicate that homework assignments, mid-term exams, and attendance significantly and positively impact students’ final grades. Notably, homework assignments have the highest positive impact on students’ overall performance. Conclusions. When the professors commit themselves to prepare appropriate homework assignments and provide regular feedback to the students it will substantially enhance their academic achievements. The results of this study offer valuable insights to students, professors, and university administrators regarding the factors that influence academic achievement in higher education courses.