Impact of Cognitive Factors and Personality Traits on Student Outcomes in a Business Course

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed higher education globally, and even after in-person instruction resumed in Fall 2021, the number of online courses continued to grow. This shift, combined with ongoing socioeconomic and health challenges, impacted student learning. This study analyzed data from 212 students in an undergraduate online synchronous management science course at a public university in the western U.S. to examine how personality traits, cognitive factors like learning approaches, and meta-cognitive factors, such as self-regulation and goal orientations, influenced performance and satisfaction post-pandemic. Stepwise regression models showed that certain goal orientations affected learning, while others influenced satisfaction. Intrinsic value had a significant negative effect on both. Logistic regression revealed factors influencing future online course preferences, including goal orientations, agreeableness, controlled regulation, intrinsic value, GPA, and gender. Implications for online education and classroom teaching are discussed.