The Assessment Of Online Degree Programs: Lessons From Recent Alumni

Abstract

The main focus of this study was the assessment performed by recent alumni as an important component of online degree program outcomes assessment. A model of components of the online learning environment was developed and tested to predictive various levels of educational outcomes of online degree programs separately for bachelor and master degree programs' alumni. The educational outcomes include direct educational outcomes and attributed educational outcomes. The model was then validated in predicting summative outcomes assessment. The model played an important role in understanding degree program's online educational outcomes and its predictive validity across all outcomes and degree levels is very high. The alum assessment of the quality of the learning model was found to be the most dominant predictor of educational outcomes for all assessment criteria and for all levels of degree programs. Finally, the explanations and implications of these findings were discussed.