<p>Online courses and innovative teaching models have become increasingly important for China’s higher education reform and innovation. However, their true effectiveness remains a subject of debate. This study analyzes the teaching outcomes of online courses and explores the impact of innovative teaching models on students’ academic performance in online courses. It also investigates how teacher-student interaction moderates this impact. The results show that students in online courses score significantly lower than those in traditional classrooms. Innovative teaching models can partially offset the negative effect of limited teacher presence in online courses. While teacher-student interaction positively contributes to academic performance, it negatively moderates the relationship between the innovative teaching model and academic achievement. These findings suggest that large-scale online degree programs may not be suitable for the current context. It is essential to balance the frequency and depth of teacher-student interaction when designing innovative teaching models.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>