PurposeThis paper aims to examine the correlation between academic performance and attendance of e-learning, away from the conventional classroom setting.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigates the impact of attendance in the final grades of 389 undergraduate first- and second-year undergraduates taking Business Management classes online for the first time over the span of three consecutive academic semesters during an academic year.FindingsThe results show that there was a negative correlation between attendance and grades. However, splitting the results by year provided some insightful information as there was a difference between the relationships for first- and second-year students. Therefore, it can be concluded that both attendance and the year of the students did have a statistically significant influence on grades.Originality/valueAlthough the impact of students' attendance on their academic performance has not been the subject of extensive research, especially in the field of Management studies and in an online delivery medium, it is likely to be of interest to academics and policymakers as the pandemic continues to make e-learning more popular.