Review of the factors influencing the satisfaction of learning in online courses at Marshall University

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine what factors influence online course satisfaction. Additionally, the study investigates differences in demographics between traditional student populations and those students attracted to online courses. Research questions were defined for investigating relationship between student satisfaction in the online course with the of the amount of learner interaction and feedback, the reason students enrolled in the course, faculty expertise in online technologies, the course pace, the combination of instructional strategies used in the course, and the students prior experience with the online course product. Additionally, course retention data was calculated as a secondary satisfaction indicator. To achieve this purpose, the Flashlight Current Student Inventory and Flashlight Gap Analysis surveys were utilized in the study. Standard research methodology was used to collect, analyze, and report on the data. The research population for this study was 1129 Marshall University students enrolled in 50 online courses during the fall 1999 term. The responses indicate that students enrolled in online courses are more likely to be older than traditional students, and have a higher percentage of females. Overall, student satisfaction with online courses was medium to high. The data implies the student satisfaction is influenced by the amount and type of learner interaction and feedback, the reason why a student takes a course, faculty technical expertise, the pace of the course, and the type of instructional strategies employed in the course. The data did not support the notion that a student's expertise in the online course delivery product called WebCT influenced student satisfaction. The retention rates for online courses exceeded the traditional course rate. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the outcome of a remarkable system of support supplied by my committee, family and friends. With my deepest gratitude and love to my husband, daughters, mother, and sister who have provided me with emotional support and encouragement. Without the help of these individuals completion of this work would not be possible. For their guidance and encouragement I am deeply grateful. Dr. Mike Cunningham, my committee chair, has provided me with assistance and direction throughout my program. Dr. Dennis P. Prisk has continued to mentor me in all aspects of Higher Education Administration and has been a significant source of support and encouragement throughout my dissertation. Dr. Robert Gillespie, Dr. Powell Toth, and Dr. Ernest Goeres have shown me enormous compassion, support and encouragement, especially during the prospectus process. I will be forever grateful to these individuals. I would also like to thank several other individuals who assisted in the dissertation review, Dr.

An assessment of the effectiveness of interaction in distance education based on student satisfaction with the learner-centered paradigm

“…Therefore, the students' prior experiences with distance education were not significantly related to their course satisfaction. These results are consistent with the findings of Fox (2000) and Lai (2004).…”

“…Distance education has become a popular method for teaching around the country (Fox, 2000). However, many people are concerned about the quality of distance education (Bernard, Brauer, Abrami & Surkes, 2004;Russell, 1999).…”

Successful Online Course Retention at Marylhurst University Constructing a Model for Online Course Retention Using Grounded Theory

“…O f four online course retention studies for 4-year colleges (Beatty-Guenter, 2001; Fox, 2000;Schreck, 2002;R. Schroeder, personal communication, November 8, 2001), by far the best results come from the University of Illinois -Springfield (UIS) and Marylhurst University (MU) in Portland, Oregon.…”

“…Frankly, it was difficult to find an article that did not sing the praises of these three subthemes. In a dissertation study, which had a sample pool of 1,129 students enrolled in 50 online courses, Fox (2000) discovers, "The most important interaction and feedback variables were in response to the instructor returning assignments quickly" (p. 64).…”