Geolocated Achievement Differences in Face-to-Face and Distance Education in Colombia

Successful students are often concentrated in wealthier regions. This paper examines the possible impact of students’ geographical location on their achievement, evaluated externally in bachelor’s degree programs in economics (taught face-to-face or via traditional or virtual distance learning) in higher education institutions in Colombia. An analysis was conducted using georeferenced and geolocated models, based on students’ assessment results from the Colombian Institute for Educational Assessment’s (ICFES) FTP system and the Political and Administrative Division (DIVIPOLA) system. High achievement was recorded in face-to-face learning in central regions like Bogotá and Antioquia, but also in more remote regions in traditional distance learning, despite the fact that location did not exhibit statistically significant trends in the spatial autocorrelation measure Moran’s I. Lastly, we discuss the trends found and the possible limitations of this model.