Effect of e-learning on students’ academic performance at Makerere University

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the effect of e-learning on students' academic performance at Makerere University. The objectives of the study included: (1) to compare the academic performance of Bachelor of Statistics year three students before and after the introduction of e-learning; (2) to establish whether a significant difference exists in the students' academic performance following the introduction of e-learning and; (3) to establish the relationship between the students' gender and their academic performance following the introduction of e-learning. Primary data was collected using an online questionnaire survey, from a sample of 74 students and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) The study used the sign test method to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that the "Asymp. Sign. (2-tailed)" which in this case is considered the p-value, was 0.416, greater than 0.05, implying that the null hypothesis had to be rejected. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in the students' academic performance since the introduction of e-learning. Also, the findings revealed that majority (80%) of the students’ preferred face to face learning compared to only 20% who were in favour of e-learning. Overall, majority of the students (55%) experienced a decline in their CGPA between the first and second semester of their second year. With regards to the gender disaggregation, 58% of the female students and 53% of the male students experienced a decline in their academic performance with a drop in the CGPA between the first and second semester of their second year studies. The study therefore concludes that the university engages their ICT department to improve on the MUELE system as it was cited by the students as a major hindrance to their academic performance. The university also needs to collaborate with the different internet service providers to subsidize internet services especially for students and their staff, as well as encourage them improve connectivity rural settings.