Management Of Academic Quality: A Comparison Of Online Versus Lecture Course Outcomes

Abstract

This study compared the final grades of courses taught both through distance learning (online) and the traditional classroom (lecture) delivery mode. This research sought to determine if a significant difference existed between the grades of the two identified delivery modes. Four courses taught by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University were selected for the study. Grades for the 2005 and 2006 calendar years were compared to determine if significance exists between the two modes. The study found that in the case of all four classes a significant difference was found in the final grades. In each case, the mean grade for the online courses was significantly less than those of the traditional lecture classes.

Institutional Environment(s) for Online Course Development and Delivery

“…There is an established body of literature on how to develop online courses from the administrative or institutional perspective (Knowles and Kalata, 2007 [7]; Oblinger and Hawkins, 2006 [12]; Porter, 2010 [13]), how individuals should go about developing online courses (Horton, 2000 [6]; Knowles and Kalata, 2007 [7]; Ko and Rossen, 2003 [8]; Powell, 2001 [14]), how to deliver online courses (Powell, 2001 [14]), how to assure the quality of online courses (Chao, Saj and Tessier, 2006 [2]; Koontz, Hongqin and Compora, 2006 [9]; Smith, 2008 [17]; Vai and Soculski, 2011 [20]), on the incentives and/or "coercive" measures used by administrators to convince instructors to develop and teach online courses (Berg, 2002 [1]; Oblinger and Hawkins, 2006 [12]), and on assessing the effectiveness of the online learning environment (e.g. Russell, 2001 [15]; Dutton, Dutton and Perry, 2002 [4]; Dutton and Dutton, 2005 [3]; Fjermestad, Hiltz, and Zhang, 2004 [5]; Schultz, Schultz and Round, 2008 [16]; Sussman and Lee, 2010 [18]; Urtel, 2008 [19]). What is missing is a discussion of the administrative, socio-cultural, political and institutional barriers individual faculty encounter when trying to develop and/or deliver online courses.…”