Do Study-Together Groups Improve Academic Achievement? Evidence from Online Community College Courses

• In Event: Mindsets and Mentorship: Improving Success for Underserved and Community College Students

Abstract

As enrollment in distance education rises among nontraditional college students, concerns persist about its negative impact on learning and persistence, often attributed to the lack of personal connection in online environments. While peer interactions have shown promise in mitigating online performance decrement, much of the evidence comes from four-year universities and may not generalize to community colleges. This study examines the effects of a “study-together group” peer interaction intervention at a community college. Using difference-in-differences and propensity score design, results indicate the intervention significantly improved students’ persistence rates with similar effects for pass rates and term GPA. These findings highlight the potential of flexible, non–project-based peer interactions that provide autonomy to discuss course content in a dedicated space.

Authors

• Jenny Lee, University of California - Irvine

• Michael Cooper, University of California - Irvine

• Qiujie LI, Nanyang Technological University - National Institute of Education

• Waverly Tseng, University of California - Irvine

• Di Xu, University of California - Irvine