Factors Associated with Student Performance in Upper Level Undergraduate Accounting Courses: An Empirical Comparative Study at Commuter and Residential Schools

Abstract

The grade the student intends to earn and intention to take the CPA exam are good motivating factors for students to improve performance at both schools but intention to attend graduate school motivates only commuter school students. GPA and Intermediate Accounting II grade are strong predictor of student performance at both schools, especially when student performance is defined as “grade” at the commuter school. Surprisingly, work hours, job type, and course loads have no significant negative effects on student performance. Actually, there is strong evidence that higher course loads had positive effects on student performance at the residential school.