Online, Instructional Television And Traditional Delivery: Student Characteristics And Success Factors In Business Statistics

Abstract

Distance education has surged in recent years while research on student characteristics and factors leading to successful outcomes has not kept pace. This study examined characteristics of regional university students in undergraduate Business Statistics and factors linked to their success based on three modes of delivery - Online, Instructional Television (ITV), and Traditional classroom. The three groups were found to have similar GPAs prior to taking their statistics courses. Online students were more likely to be repeating the course, to have earned more credit hours prior to enrolling, and to be significantly older. Ordinary Least Squares regression identified GPA and % absences (or an effort proxy) as highly significant predictors of course performance. Academic advisors are encouraged to suggest a traditional format to students who are repeating the course and to caution students that previous online coursework may produce expectations that are not appropriate for online courses in statistics.