Experimental evidence on the relationship between class meeting time compression and accounting student performance, evaluations and drop-out experience

The present paper contains experimental results concerning the effect of class meeting time compression on accounting student performance (as measured by final course grades), evaluations (of the course, the instructor, accounting as a discipline, etc.), and drop-out experience. Two experimental sections (one for each of Introductory Accounting I and Introductory Accounting II) were created and matched with two conventional (control) sections taught by the same pair of instructors at a large, northeastern university. Results indicate that the experimental treatment had little impact on student performance. While the treatment had some impact on drop-out experience and on evaluations, the impact could be explained by an instructor effect. These results suggest that, at the Introductory Accounting level, and especially for better-rated instructors, courses can be offered on a compressed meeting basis without regard for negative effects on performance, attitudes, or drop-out behavior.