INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Academic Year 2020-21, the pre-clerkship curriculum of the USF Morsani medical school curriculum switched to online class delivery via live streaming by Microsoft Teams. The purpose of this study was to investigate how this affected the academic performance in the first course of a medical school curriculum compared with previous and subsequent in-person course delivery. 

METHODS: Academic performance of the 8-week Course 1 “Cancer Biology & Core Principles of Medical Sciences” in Fall 2020 as an online course was compared to face-to-face in-person class delivery in Fall 2019 and 2021 again. The material and lectures had remained identical for the online course delivery in 2020. 

RESULTS: The class average for online delivery in 2020 (mean 87.2%, SD 6.7%) remained within the same range compared to the in-person delivery in 2019 (mean 88.0%, SD 6.0%) and 2021 (mean 87.9%, SD 6.3%). However, a larger tail of lower performing students was observed for the online delivery in 2020 compared to the face-to-face course deliveries. 

CONCLUSIONS: The overall academic performance was not affected by online course delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. However, fewer opportunities for in-person social interactions in this first course of the medical school curriculum may have affected more of the lower performing students as indicated by a larger cohort of lower performing students for the online course.