The Ratio of Face-to-Face Contact Hours in Blended Courses Effects on Course Grades and Course Completion

Distance learning has changed the landscape of higher education especially with regards to community colleges which are the leaders in offering online courses (CCRC, 2013). In years past the online educational platform has struggled to meet the same academic standards and retention rates of traditional face-to-face courses. Blended courses which are believed to be the “best of both worlds” bridge the community aspect of face-to-face courses with the online e learning component. This study compared the three delivery methods: online, face-to-face, and blended by examining course grades and course completion rates at a Midwestern U.S. community college. It was hypothesized that face-to-face and blended courses would have higher course grades and course completion rates because of interactive qualities and community support that is lacking or absent in online learning – especially for community college students who tend to struggle more with the barriers of online learning (Jaggars & Bailey, 2010; Ryan et al., 2016). Unique to this study, blended courses were investigated by examining the ratio of face-to-face contact time within the blended courses. In the same vein as holding more campus community and interactive human connections, it was also hypothesized that courses with more face-to-face contact time would have higher course grades and higher course completion rates. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis. The findings show that face-to face courses did have higher course grades and course completion rates than online courses; however, the practical significance was negligible indicating that there was little difference between the two delivery methods. (Blended courses were not statistically significant.) The ratio of face-to-face contact within blended courses showed that students had higher course grades and higher course completion rates when there was either very little face-to-face contact or a lot of face-to-face contact with the poorest course grades and course completion rates existing when there was an even ratio of online to face-to-face.

Grantor dc:publisher

Drake University

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Julich, Jennifer L.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://escholarshare.drake.edu/handle/2092/2174

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:escholarshare.drake.edu:2092/2174