Graduate Student Ratings of Instruction for Face-to-Face and Online Courses

• In Event: 18.049 - New Thinking on Student Rating

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine graduate student ratings of instruction in order to understand why online ratings are lower than face-to-face ratings. More than 5,000 graduate students rated their instruction in the areas of instructional methods, faculty/student interactions, and assessment of student learning. Results indicated that online students were significantly less satisfied than students in face-to-face courses, yet predictors of satisfaction for courses using both deliveries types were similar. Researchers concluded that students value instructors who have a strong teaching presence in the classroom but that online teaching presence may be lacking.

Authors

• Suzanne Young, University of Wyoming

• Maryalice Bruce, University of Wyoming

• Athena Marie Kennedy, Arizona State University

• Leslie S. Rush, University of Wyoming