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Research Seminar Series - Examining the Linkage between Class Attendance at University and Academic Performance in an International Branch Campus Setting

  • Wednesday, 19 February 2020
  • 4:00 PM GST
  • Middlesex University Dubai

We are pleased to invite you to our Wednesday Research Seminar. It will be held on 19 February from 4pm, at Middlesex University Dubai in the Oasis Theatre, Block 16, Knowledge Park.

Wednesday Research Seminar Series was launched in 2008, and has featured more than 265 presentations to date. The seminars provide a forum for researchers to share their work. Presenters include faculty from Middlesex University Dubai and other universities in the United Arab Emirates, as well as researchers from other global institutions. Prof. Ajit Karnik, Pallavi Kishore and Mohammad Meraj will deliver seminar on:

“Examining the Linkage between Class Attendance at University and Academic Performance in an International Branch Campus Setting”

Ajit Karnik, Pallavi Kishore and Mohammad Meraj

Abstract

The relationship between class attendance and academic performance has been an important area of research with a positive association being posited between the two. The setting for our study is an International Branch Campus (IBC) of a British University which needs to demonstrate the quality of its service delivery both to the parent institution and to the fee-paying students. We employ a dataset of over 900 students in an undergraduate degree programme and subject it to statistical techniques, namely, quantile regression and two-stage quantile regression. Our results show that attendance has a beneficial influence on academic performance and this benefit increases with the percentile of grades. We propose that IBCs could consider an attendance policy that encourages students to attend classes.

Keywords: International Branch Campus; Class attendance; Academic performance; Attendance Policy; Quantile regression; endogeneity

Biography

Ajit Karnik is Professor of Economics. He was previously Professor of Political Economy before assuming the role of Director of the Department of Economics at the University of Mumbai, and served as Professor of Economics at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. He has been Indo-American Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin (USA), Overseas Visiting Fellow at St John’s College (Cambridge University, UK), Fulbright Scholar at the Haas Business School, University of California (USA) and Smuts Fellow at Wolfson College (Cambridge University, UK). He teaches across areas spanning Econometrics, Introductory and Advanced Economics, Marketing Research, Operations Strategy, Research Methods, and Trade and Multinational Enterprises. To date he has supervised the dissertations of 11 PhD students, 5 MPhil students, 25 MA students, 10 MSc Banking and Finance students, and over 75 MBA students.

Pallavi Kishore is Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance. She holds a Master’s in International Business from the University of Wollongong Dubai and a BSc in Statistics from Delhi University (India). She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), the Accountants and Auditors Association (UAE) and is a Chartered Accountant of the United Arab Emirates (UAECA). Pallavi has taught for over a decade and has received both the ‘Innovation Award for Teaching and Learning’ and the ‘Distinction and Excellence in Teaching and Student Centred Learning’.

Mohammad Ali Meraj is Quality Manager. He is an educator and senior manager with over 15 years’ experience within the higher education sector in the United Arab Emirates. Over thirty (30) postgraduate dissertations and entrepreneurship projects have been completed under his supervision. During his career as a practitioner, he has successfully established new departments in fields of institutional research, quality management and customer service earning several Excellence awards in the process. He has professional training, certification and experience in project management, research methodology and quality management.  He possesses sound understanding of the cultural sensitivities and business practices in the UAE and thorough knowledge of popular educational systems (UK, EU, Australia and the Commonwealth national qualifications frameworks).

We look forward to welcoming you at the seminar.