The Impact of Different Types of External Lecturers in Higher Education on Student Learning Outcomes

Universities often need outside assistance when teaching large classes. This is in the form of teaching assistants coming from the senior or graduate students, and professionals working part time at the university. This study addresses the issue of student outcomes in regard to the type and the number of the lecturers. The study includes 1343 students that attended the same course during three consecutive years. Half of the entire course was taught by different lecturers: undergraduate teaching assistants, graduate teaching assistants, professional experts and internal faculty staff. The student outcomes are measured by different criteria. The results of the research show that there is a statistically significant difference between student outcomes in regard to the number and type of lecturers.