Class Absence, Instructor Lecture Notes, Intellectual Styles, and Learning Outcomes

At many universities, undergraduate introductory economics courses are taught in large lecture halls. Casual empiricism suggests that rates of student absenteeism are significantly greater in the large lecture format compared to the smaller classroom format. There is also the compounding factor that numerous empirical studies have identified a statistically significant negative relationship between absenteeism and student performance. Using panel data, it is estimated that the average student with less than perfect attendance is better off attending the lecture, but studying from instructor-provided lecture notes can significantly reduce the negative effect of absence on exam performance. Additional estimates of the differential effects of intellectual styles show the notes were the least beneficial for the auditory intellectual style. © 2015, International Atlantic Economic Society.