Abstract
BackgroundHealth professions’ education programs are undergoing enormous changes, including increasing use of online and intensive, or time reduced, courses. Although evidence is mounting for online and intensive course formats as separate designs, literature investigating online and intensive formats in health professional education is lacking. The purpose of the study was to compare student outcomes (final grades and course evaluation ratings) for equivalent courses in semester long (15-week) versus intensive (7-week) online formats in graduate health sciences courses.MethodsThis retrospective, observational study compared satisfaction and performance scores of students enrolled in three graduate health sciences programs in a large, urban US university. Descriptive statistics, chi square analysis, and independent t-tests were used to describe student samples and determine differences in student satisfaction and performance.ResultsThe results demonstrated no significant differences for four applicable items on the final student course evaluations (p values range from 0.127 to 1.00) between semester long and intensive course formats. Similarly, student performance scores for final assignment and final grades showed no significant differences (p = 0.35 and 0.690 respectively) between semester long and intensive course formats.ConclusionFindings from this study suggest that 7-week and 15-week online courses can be equally effective with regard to student satisfaction and performance outcomes. While further study is recommended, academic programs should consider intensive online course formats as an alternative to semester long online course formats.
Highlights
Health professions’ education programs are undergoing enormous changes, including increasing use of online and intensive, or time reduced, courses
The study assessed 245 health sciences student records of which 35.1% were enrolled in the clinical research administration program (CRA), 42.9% were enrolled in the health care quality program (HCQ), and 22.0% were enrolled in the regulatory affairs program (RAFF)
While the results of prior research related to student satisfaction with face-to-face ICs and face-to-face semester long courses were mixed [1,2,3,4] this study indicates no significant difference in student satisfaction between ICs and semester long courses delivered online
Summary
Health professions’ education programs are undergoing enormous changes, including increasing use of online and intensive, or time reduced, courses. Recent evidence suggests that current adult students expect flexibility in the delivery mode and structure of undergraduate and graduate education [1,2,3]. These expectations include the use of online delivery models and intensive course structures. These expectations impact health and medical professional education, as online and intensive. Within health and medical professional education, authors confirm increased accessibility, flexibility and self-direction as benefits of online learning, and note additional benefits such as increased interactivity
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