Length of online course and student satisfaction, perceived learning, and academic performance

Abstract

This research presents findings from a two-part study. In the first part, graduate students taking online courses were given a course evaluation form. Student responses from online abbreviated summer sessions were compared to student responses from online full-semester courses.Both the intensive and full-semester courses were taught by the same professor and both had identical requirements in terms of assignments and exams. The independent variable was the length of time taken to complete the requirements, with the dependent variables being satisfaction with the course, perceived learning, and academic performance. A statistical analysis of the data found significant differences in a number of areas.

Student Actions and Community in Online Courses: The Roles Played By Course Length and Facilitation Method

“…Most studies have failed to find significant differences between the two formats. In cases where a difference is found, the intensive courses tend to be superior (Seamon, 2004), with students in short courses earning higher mean grades when the same course was compared across lengths (Ferguson & DeFelice, 2010). This pattern held even when controlling for a variety of individual student attributes such as GPA, age, and affinity for learning (Seamon, 2004).…”

“…A variety of factors have been considered, including discussion group size (Hewitt & Brett, 2007;Rovai, 2007), facilitation methods (MacKnight, 2000;Rovai, 2007;Wise & Chiu, 2011), course length (Ferguson & DeFelice, 2010;Seamon, 2004), and software design (Brooks, Panesar, & Greer, 2006;Hewitt, 2005;Swan, 2004). In this paper, we focus on two of these factors: course length and facilitation method.…”

“…While there is a relationship between student satisfaction that varies by online course length (Richardson et al, 2017), the findings from investigations directly comparing courses of different lengths are less clear. One study of online courses by Ferguson and DeFelice (2010) found students in a shorter intensive course were significantly more satisfied with studentstudent communication than those in the longer full-semester version of the course were, but they were less satisfied with student-professor communication. The same researchers detected no significant differences in terms of the students' perceived learning or their intentions to take additional online courses in the future (Ferguson & DeFelice, 2010).…”

“…One study of online courses by Ferguson and DeFelice (2010) found students in a shorter intensive course were significantly more satisfied with studentstudent communication than those in the longer full-semester version of the course were, but they were less satisfied with student-professor communication. The same researchers detected no significant differences in terms of the students' perceived learning or their intentions to take additional online courses in the future (Ferguson & DeFelice, 2010). Anastasi (2007), in contrast, found that student ratings of instructors were similar across the two conditions, although they rated the intensive short courses as more challenging.…”

Influence of a Compressed Semester on Student Performance in a Construction Science Course

“…Some students become actively engaged in the course by becoming active participants. A study by Ferguson & DeFelice 9 indicate academic participation by students taking courses in a compressed semester is more than those attending courses in a regular semester.…”