Online Graduate Education: Graduate Students' Perceptions of the Importance of Diversity

• In Event: 63.042 - Graduate Student Experiences and Completion

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine two research questions: To what extent do online graduate students at a Research 1 institution consider faculty and student diversity important in their degree program and decision to enroll? Do these perceptions vary by racial/ethnic group? An online survey was administered to current students and recent graduates yielding 383 respondents. Results indicated statistically significant mean differences were present across racial/ethnic groups and post-hoc analyses revealed significance between respondents identifying as Black, Asian, Multi-racial and White.

Authors

• Denice Ward Hood, University of Illinois

• Adam P Rusch, University of Illinois

• Randi Congleton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign