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Academic cost of student mobility: COVID-19 restrictions as a natural experiment

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  • Rumert, Luis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced university students to transition to online learning due to mobility restrictions and campus closures. When in-person teaching resumed, many students had to commute or move closer to campus and adapt to a new learning and social environment. This paper examines how this mid-study return to campus impacted academic performance and whether all students had to bear the same costs. Using administrative student data from a public university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a difference-in-differences approach, the results show an overall significant but small decrease in passed credit points and the number of registered exams. The effects increase over time and reach a 14 percent decrease in passed credit points and a 13 percent decrease in registered exams after five semesters. Additionally, the overall dropout probability decreases by 33 percent. The estimated effects are heterogenous with respect to cohorts, sex, and migration background. Moreover, the cost of student mobility increases by distance.

Suggested Citation

  • Rumert, Luis, 2025. "Academic cost of student mobility: COVID-19 restrictions as a natural experiment," Ruhr Economic Papers 1152, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:315489
    DOI: 10.4419/96973336
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph Marchand & Jeremy G. Weber, 2020. "How Local Economic Conditions Affect School Finances, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Texas Shale Boom," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 36-63, January.
    2. De Paola, Maria & Gioia, Francesca & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2023. "Online teaching, procrastination and student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Do, Chau, 2004. "The effects of local colleges on the quality of college attended," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 249-257, June.
    4. Stephan Litschig & Kevin M. Morrison, 2013. "The Impact of Intergovernmental Transfers on Education Outcomes and Poverty Reduction," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 206-240, October.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student mobility; reopening of universities; academic performance; difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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