
CASE STUDYEast Carolina University
How East Carolina University Raised Business Course Grades by 15% with a More Personalized Approach
Robin Ashley, Marketing and Business Professor at East Carolina University, teaches high-enrollment courses like International Business and Marketing Management. When traditional group projects and LMS-based discussion boards stopped delivering results, Robin turned to Packback to improve learning outcomes, engagement, and grading efficiency.
Key Takeaways
15% increase in Marketing Management course grades
Full letter grade improvement in International Business

Situation
Robin was facing two major challenges across her courses: disengaged group projects and ineffective traditional discussion boards.
- In International Business, discussion boards for 80+ students led to shallow participation and lackluster grades.
- In Marketing Management, group projects caused conflict and uneven contributions, resulting in inconsistent outcomes.
- Across both classes, grading was time-consuming, and many students struggled with applying core concepts or demonstrating strong writing skills.

Action
Robin integrated Packback into both courses to improve engagement and enable scalable, individualized instruction.
- She first introduced Packback Questions in International Business to foster deeper engagement and hold students accountable for higher-quality participation.
- Packback Deep Dives replaced traditional writing assignments, offering students real-time feedback while freeing Robin to focus on content and concept mastery.
- In Marketing Management, Robin broke away from group projects and transitioned to individualized Deep Dives assignments and discussion-based check-ins on Packback. This personalized model encouraged ownership and reflection.

Result
Packback helped Robin transform her course structure and raise student performance in both content mastery and writing skills.
- International Business students improved by a full letter grade, driven by consistent practice and timely feedback.
- In Marketing Management, shifting to individualized projects with Packback produced a 15% increase in final grades.
- Students became more confident writers and better critical thinkers, showing notable improvement in grammar, structure, and applied analysis.
- With AI handling lower-order feedback, Robin could focus on personalized coaching and students could no longer hide behind group work.
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