Abstract
Online student assessments have gained popularity in the engineering education community in the past few years. McGraw-Hill Education (MGHE) Connect has been used extensively in higher education for online assessments. However, its efficacy in engineering education needs to be investigated. This study investigates the effect of using McGrawHill Education (MGHE) Connect online platforms on students' academic performance in a Mechanics of Materials (MoM) course. Evaluations from twelve sections (n = 367) were collected using past years' data, where conventional paper and pencil homework were adopted as a control group with MGHE Connect-based online homework intervention for synchronous and face-to-face MoM courses as the treatment group. The study examined the effects of MGHE Connect on homework score, cumulative score, grade and pass rate. Variations due to semesters, instructors, delivery type, and modality are analyzed using a mixed model to find the effect of the intervention. Moreover, this study assessed students' perceptions of the platform and its setup. The study findings showed 'immediate feedback' and 'multiple attempts' as the two major strengths, while the 'lack of access to the step-by-step solutions' and 'need to redo' as major weaknesses. There is a difference in homework grades, with the treatment group's median being higher; however, the study found no evidence to support the claim that MGHE Connect improved students' performance and grade. Students revealed that their satisfaction was significantly influenced by the setup preference of Connect. These outcomes provide insight into how homework should be set up to improve student satisfaction while maintaining academic performance.
