Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1. Comparison of importance with likelihood of being on-campus versus online
4.50
V1 4
V1 5
V2 2
V2 4
V2 6
V16
4.00
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V1
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V2 5
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V3
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3.00
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On-line
Likelihood of Characteristics
On-campus
The issues identified as most important were given further review, because those issues
were not given particularly strong ratings as either online or on-campus options. Table 8
repeats the issues identified as most important that were shown in Table 6 but identifies their
means for the comparison of “much more likely in an online course” versus on-campus. All
had means greater than 3.0, which placed them closer to the on-campus likelihood. Three of
these issues considered most important had means that were rather close to 4.0, the value
needed to be in the category of “much more likely in an on-campus course” than an online
course. The issues are listed in the same order of importance shown in Table 6.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Most students who participated in this study had access to computers at home, making
it easier for them to consider the possibility of online coursework. However, no significant
differences were found between gender in access level or current status of interest in taking
online courses.
Students identified some issues that they believed were important. They also indicated
which issues they believed were more likely to be a characteristic of an online course and those
that were more likely to be a characteristic of an on-campus course. None of the issues they
identified as important were also identified as more likely to be a characteristic of an online
course.
Perhaps these potential students may not be ready to consider the less traditional online
option. For example, students rated “knowledge gained” as their most important issue in
making this decision and also rated it more likely to be a characteristic of an on-campus than
