Recent research indicates that class scheduling influences the academic performance of college students. Specifically, it finds that grades for early-morning classes are systematically lower than for classes held later in the day, all else being equal. Building on this research, we present evidence that class scheduling has a larger influence on student performance in quantitative business disciplines, such as accounting and finance, than in qualitative business disciplines, such as management. We also find that the scheduling effect is more pronounced for single-section classes than for multiple-section classes, which is consistent with a self-selection effect that acts to mitigate the adverse impact of early morning classes on grades.
Download pdf