The Blended Quality Development Curve: A Comparative and Longitudinal Study on the Improvement Rate by Using Blended Methodologies in Management Masters

Abstract

The highly diverse cultural and social backgrounds of students from around the world, in this case, from Spanish-speaking countries, has driven a redesign of traditional, f2f (face-to-face) Master's programs in a business school, leading to a blended learning format. Identifying how much time is needed to reach the optimum quality level, looking at mirror (compared) with the f2f is essential for the process of improving overall teaching and optimal use of blended strategies. A satisfaction survey was administered and data was analyzed using the Mann Whitney test. How many editions does it take to obtain the best quality level? How do the different quality factors evolve over time? And how is the comparison with f2f program's evolution over time? Some unexpected results were found, including that, when compared to f2f programs, general satisfaction was statistically higher in the blended modality even from the first edition, and waiting until the second edition shows higher results in almost all of the factors considered. Comparing different editions of the same blended program, the highest level of improvement in the perception of quality occurs when comparing the first and third edition. In this comparison, the most essential factors are those involving people: professors and students. This research provides valuable insights for institutions and/ or faculty members who are considering or currently offering online or blended learning.