Grade Validity Of Online Quantitative Courses

Abstract

Are prospective employers getting “quality” educated, degreed applicants and are academic institutions that offer online degree programs ensuring the quality control of the courses/programs offered? The issue specifically addressed in this paper is not with all institutions offering degrees through online programs or even with all online courses. The concern is with those online courses where the means to ensure the validity of course grades is not guaranteed by measures of technology or academic rigor employed. More specifically, the practical measures to reduce or eliminate doubts about a student’s acquired knowledge in quantitative online courses need evaluation and thought to arrive at a more circumspect solution. Is the grade earned truly indicative of a student’s competency and level of acquired knowledge and understanding in an online quantitative course or merely an indication that the student somehow just satisfied proscribed evaluative criteria set by the faculty member without adequate measures of assessment?