Constructs that contribute to student satisfaction for participating in graduate level courses delivered by full motion interactive fiber optic communications network

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure constructs that contribute to gradtiate student satisfaction with interactive televised courses that have been taught via Iowa Communications Network (ICN). In this study student satisfaction with the instructor's communication and teaching skills, accessibility of the instructor out of classroom, course management, course content, and quality of technology was measured by using die Student Satisfaction with ICN (SSICN) questionnaire. Students' needs and their suggestions to improve the quality of education through ICN were identified through five open-ended questions. The population for the study was 690 graduate students who took ICN courses between spring 1996 and spring 1997. From the population, 300 students were selected by using stratified random sampling design. The SSICN questionnaire was mailed to students in the fall. 1997. Two follow-up contacts were made to non-respondents. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each item. Using t-tests to investigate the student satisfaction with each construct, student differences in ratings based on site-type and gender were explored. A correlation analysis was done to investigate the relationships between student satisfaction, age, and motivation. A content analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions indicated student satisfaction with their positive learning experience using interactive televised courses through ICN. The t-test analysis revealed that there were significant differences between male and female students in their satisfaction with accessibility of instructor out of classroom. However, no significant differences were found between male and female students' satisfaction with the constructs when considering only students in the origination site. When