Investigating Academic Performance and LMS Metrics Under the Student-Assisted E-Learning Delivery (SAED) Initiative: Insights from a Large-Scale University Study

Abstract

Background: Learning Management Systems (LMS) have facilitated a pivotal change in educational practices by enhancing content dissemination and ena-bling data-driven insights on pedagogical strategies. However, their full poten-tial might not be realized without mutual engagement between faculty and stu-dents. The Student Assistant E-Learning Delivery (SAED) program addresses this by developing student-faculty partnerships leveraging trained student assis-tants to be active members of the e-learning delivery. Objective: This study evaluates SAED\'s impacts on student achievement and Blackboard engagement across a large, diverse university population using exploratory data analysis. Methods: Data from 2223 students enrolled in 24 university courses, both with SAED implementation and non-SAED controls, were analyzed. Course pass percentages, average section scores, individual student scores, and Blackboard platform metrics were compared between the SAED and control groups. SAED effects were evaluated overall and within subgroups determined by semester, sex, campus, discipline, faculty, and course. Results: The study observed high overall pass rates (98.1%) and average course section scores (4.3 out of 5.0), in-dicating robust academic performance. There was no significant difference in pass rates and scores between SAED and control groups. Notably, SAED had a positive impact on scores for female students and those in the Humanities/Social Sciences college, while it showed lower scores in males and in the Law/Political Science college compared to the control group. SAED yielded comparable Blackboard engagement to non-SAED control groups. Interestingly, higher ex-am scores were correlated with lower item counts on Blackboard. Conclusion: The SAED program offers an effective strategy to facilitate e-learning while achieving equitable outcomes to standard \"sole faculty-delivery\" approaches. However, findings reveal untapped opportunities to engage student assistants as partners in pedagogical innovation and course enhancement beyond basic sup-port roles.