MBA Distance Education

Interactivity With MBA Distance Educationals

According to a recent study a comparison was made between two modes of MBA distance education course delivery: a course consisting of a face-to-face lecture-referred to in this study as the "traditional course"--and a course consisting of a face-to-face lecture supplemented with an on-line option--referred to in this study as the "on-line course." The course was an introductory undergraduate business Management Science class. The same instructor was used for both modes of course delivery over several semesters the course content, evaluation method, and text were the same and the class size and instructional approach were similar. In addition, a questionnaire was designed in advance of the on-line course to gather data for the purpose of inferential statistical testing. Our study was conducted at an AACSB-accredited business school of a comprehensive 4-year university and investigated a variety of factors related to academic achievement.

The introductory Management Science course involves quantitative techniques for business decisions and is typically taken in the first semester of the student's junior year. The total number of students typically ranges between 30 and 40 per class. The instructor who taught throughout this experiment has been involved in distance education for many years and was the recipient of an award for teaching effectiveness. The traditional course is set in a classroom, with lecture material presented through a computer projector and a PowerPoint format. The on-line course uses the same format for in-class instruction but includes an on-line version of the course for students who cannot or wish not to attend a classroom lecture.

All exams in the on-line course, however, are given in a physical classroom setting, ensuring academic integrity. The on-line portion of the course consists of lecture material also presented in a PowerPoint format, along with a threaded discussion room and e-mail. A high degree of interactivity with students is a key feature in this on-line portion. Theoretically, the students receive the same type of instruction whether in the physical setting or on-line.

The result of these efforts involving the on-line course should be improved performance on exams and probably higher overall course scores as compared with the traditional course. However, these results are by no means certain given the contradictory findings of recent research studies related to on-line education. It might be expected that certain factors, such as a lack of computer proficiency, could contribute to lower student performance in an on-line course. If a student is new to computers or feels uncomfortable around them, the on-line course could be intimidating and performance could be compromised.