Assessment of Teaching Modality for Learning Equivalency and Gender Impact on the International Management Course: Tracking Academic Performance of Undergraduate Ground and Online Students

The study of international management has become a core competency for business and leadership students that complete their courses through traditional face-to-face and online programs. To show equivalency and continuously improve academic curriculums, school administrators and professors periodically conduct learning of outcomes assessment between students of different modalities. This study assesses the performance of students based on gender as well as program delivery mode. To assess learning equivalency across teaching modalities and to monitor for any adverse impact in performance achievement rates based on gender, a quantitative analysis of test scores from 245 undergraduate business students revealed a surprising disparate impact on male students. The findings confirm learning equivalency between ground and online teaching modalities, showing that education assessments can play a crit- ical role in continuous improvement and in promoting fairness in today’s cross-cultural learning environments. The study’s analysis and results have important implications for accreditation bodies, administrators, professors, and human resource professionals. By regularly assessing performance outcomes, academic institutions and organizations can stay away from costly lawsuits, while creating a more positive and supportive learning culture that enhances interest, engagement, and achievement productivity. Suggestions and recommendations are provided.