Different courses, different students, same results? An examination of differences in study progress of students in different courses

An important issue in higher education researchis how to keep study progress at a good pace.In this article we will deal with the studyprogress of first-year students in variouscourses in Dutch higher education. Why are somecourses more effective than others? Dosuch aspects as the composition of studentpopulation and different curricula influencevariation in study progress, after controllingfor individual factors? Multilevel analysisshows that there is in fact such variationbetween courses and this variation is onlypartially explained by individualcharacteristics and course characteristics. Atthe individual level, sex, initial ability,academic fit, expectation and commitment areimportant factors. After controlling for theseindividual factors, some courses still turn outto be more effective than others in gettingtheir students to earn credits. Students incourses with a high proportion of women makemore progress than students in courses with ahigh proportion of men. Furthermore, courseswith a high average number of student studyhours per week do better. Courses are ranked inan `order of effectiveness' before and afterimportant factors in the models are taken intoaccount. Comparing courses before and aftercontrolling for any characteristics clearlyprovides a different picture of effectivecourses.