Comparative Analyses of Online and Traditional Undergraduate Business Law Classes

Abstract

E-learning and e-pedagogy continues to grow in importance in the delivery of higher education, due in part to the cost of higher education, a changing student profile, scarcity of traditional classroom space, and the recognition that distance learning has created a genuinely new paradigm of instruction. To respond to the changing student demographics, working adults, students in the military and residents of rural communities as well as of other countries, more and more universities are including online (internet-based) course offerings to their core offerings. As they do, the question arises whether online instruction is, or can be, as effective as classroom instruction. Investigating the question has been the focus of several studies. Our studies compared students enrolled in both online and traditional classroom versions of one business law course where all elements were the same except for the instruction format. The first study found no significant difference between the two formats with regard to student satisfaction and student learning, supporting earlier comparisons of online and traditional instruction modes. However, the second study did find statistically significant differences between the online and the traditional course formats with regard to student satisfaction with the instructor, and student satisfaction with the course structure.